The European Commission expects to have in place by next year an interconnected, pan-European system of beneficial ownership registers, as part of the fight against money laundering and tax evasion, the European Commissioner, Věra Jourová, tells MEPs of the Inquiry committee into the Panama Papers scandal.
The primary story is of a U.S. professor who pleaded guilty to an FBAR violation and was subjected to a 100 million FBAR penalty. Notably the “tax loss” was 10 million dollars and the FBAR penalty was 100 million dollars. It appears that Mr. FBAR is becoming an important tool in the arsenal used by the United States Treasury.
In July 2016, the FATF (Financial Action Task Force) reported to G20 on its ongoing work to tackle terrorist financing, including the effective implementation of measures to criminalise terrorist financing and freeze terrorists’ assets since the February 2016 meeting. The G20 welcomed this progress and called for swift and effective implementation of FATF standards worldwide as a priority.
On May 26, 2016 we posted 97 Offshore Banks Are Turning Over Your Names To The IRS – What Are Your Waiting For? and since then, the Government has added 47 more banks and financial advisors to this list bringing the number to 144 offshore banks and foreign financial advisors. The IRS keeps updating its list of foreign banks which are turning over the names of their U.S. Account Holders, who are now subject to a 50% (rather than 27.5%) penalty in the IRS’s Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program (OVDP). This penalty is based on the highest account balance measured over up to eight years.
A New York City man pleaded guilty today to a criminal information charging him with tax evasion for tax years 2003 through 2005 and 2007 through 2010, announced Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Caroline D. Ciraolo, head of the Justice Department’s Tax Division, and U.S. Attorney Robert L. Capers of the Eastern District of New York.
We previously posted two articles:
“Your Offshore Confidential Information Is Being Delivered Daily to Tax Authorities – New Leak of Bahamian Offshore Files!” and
“Mossack Fonseca Affected Taxpayers with Potential Exposure Should Consult with Counsel To Consider Their Legal Options Now!”
New Security Step – IR-2016-124 (9/22/16) – The IRS alerted people filing an extended return electronically for 2015 (due 10/17/16), that they likely would be asked to enter their AGI (Adjusted Gross Income) for 2014. The purpose is to help properly identify the taxpayer. The information release reminds people how to order a tax transcript from the IRS should they not have it.
The IRS Practice and Procedure group is confronting the latest scheme to target taxpayers. The IRS and its Security Summit partners warned Thursday that scammers have sent fake emails purportedly containing CP2000 notices, which are used in the IRS’s Automated Underreporter Program.
Seven defendants were sentenced for their roles in online fraud schemes involving counterfeit checks, “mystery shopper” websites and work-from-home scams. Funso Hassan, 27, of Ibadan, Nigeria, and Anthony Shane Jeffers, 44, of Maryville, Tennessee, each pleaded guilty on April 12, 2016, to one count of conspiracy to commit identity theft and theft of government property and one count of use of mail and an interstate facility to distribute proceeds of a racketeering activity.
In what is being hailed as a landmark decision, the U.S. Tax Court recently sided with a pair of whistleblowers who provided information that assisted the U.S. government in a high-stakes tax evasion investigation. The decision allowed the whistleblowers for the first time to collect a percentage of the taxpayer’s criminal penalties and civil forfeitures, in addition to the unpaid taxes recovered by the IRS.
The background for the European Union (EU) assessing a $14.5 billion tax on Apple for its sales in Ireland is a rather complex maze of laws, treaties, and politics. It is not my purpose here to delve into those complexities. I am attempting a simple explanation of the issues involved and why the EU levied the tax, even though Apple and Ireland were both very content with thing the way there were.
Technology has made tax compliance a lot simpler and more efficient. I believe at some point, tax compliance and payment will be a just-in-time activity we can easily do from our smart phone or watch.
But, computer systems and networks need to be extremely secure due to the highly sensitive data and the thieves who work 24/7 to get the data. Just this week, the IRS alerted tax professionals of thieves and scammers trying to get control of practitioner computers to avail themselves of client tax data.
California’s AB 2829 Digital Advertising Tax Proposal
The Tax Relief for American Families And Workers Act of 2024
IRS Issues Frequently Asked Questions Related To The Tax Treatment Of Work-Life Referral Services Provided To Employees
Spotlight Interview: Chuck Levun On Educating CPAs And Attorneys On Partnership, LLC, And S Corporation Flow-Through Planning On Four Costly Business Mistakes They Make (Part 1)
Navigating A Sales Tax Audit: A Comprehensive Guide To Protecting Your Business
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