With the recent heavy focus on Congress and the Trump’s administration’s tax reform proposals, it can be easy to forget that the IRS continues to proactively crackdown on offshore tax evasion. Read more
Tag Archive for FATCA
22
Jun 2017
U.S. Expatriates Guide To Living In Greece
Living in Greece is an incredible experience for a number of reasons, including the friendly locals, the culture, history, architecture, climate, beaches and islands, not to mention easy access to the rest of Europe. As an American expatriate living in Greece though, what exactly do you need to know regarding filing U.S. expat (and Greek) taxes? Read more
21
Jun 2017
U.S. Expat Mistakes: Part I
United States is one of the few countries in the world in its Citizen-Based-Taxation format. This means that no matter where you live, you need to be current on your U.S. tax filing if you are a U.S. Citizen or Green Card Holder. You are known as an Expatriate or Expat (for short) if you are a U.S. citizen or green card holder living outside the United States. Read more
21
Jun 2017
FBAR In The Homeland: The Willful FBAR Penalty Requires Proof
This is one more in a series of posts discussing the FBAR rules. The FBAR rules were born in 1970, laid virtually dormant until the 2000s and then were then unleashed in their full “ferocity” on U.S. persons.
Mr. FBAR has not visited Canada, but he has visited Canadian citizens Read more
20
Jun 2017
Accounts U.S. Expats Have to Report In An FBAR
The U.S. tax system is different to every other developed country’s, in that America taxes based on citizenship rather than on residence. That means that whereas most countries only tax residents (and non-residents who have income arising in the country), the U.S. taxes all U.S. citizens wherever in the world they live. Read more
16
Jun 2017
The Tax Questions U.S. Expats Most Often Ask
Do I still have to file and pay U.S. taxes if I live abroad?
This is the most common tax question that U.S. expats ask. Unfortunately, the U.S. tax system is based on citizenship rather than residence, so it doesn’t discriminate where in the world you live.
As a result, expats have to file and pay U.S. taxes on their worldwide income if they earn over $10,000 (or just $400 of self-employment income).
31
May 2017
Automatic Exchange of Information Reporting Is Imminent!
HMRC has reminded financial institutions that the deadline for reporting their clients’ accounts under the Automatic Exchange of Information rules falls in less than a week’s time. Returns must be submitted by May 31, 2017, including reportable accounts for the U.S. Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories agreement, and the first year for the OECD’s Common Reporting Standards.
18
May 2017
The OVDP Program May End After 2017
U.S. taxpayers who have foreign bank and/or financial accounts should be watching the clock. The window to voluntarily report foreign accounts in order to mitigate IRS penalties may be ending after 2017.
26
Apr 2017
Keep Up With Tax Policy— Two Important Hearings Today!
If you have been reading our blogs, we have been chronicling the tax legislative process through the House Ways and Means Committee. (If not, you can click here to read the previous blogs in the process.) We have also been looking at the impact of FATCA.
These are of note because today, there will be live hearings looking at the tax filing season and the unintended consequences of FATCA.
21
Apr 2017
Financial Advisors Are Turning Over Your Names To The IRS
The Government has added another Financial Advisor since October of 2016, Michael A. Behr, (effective 1/25/17) to their list of Offshore Banks and Foreign Financial Advisors which are turning over the names of their US 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.
10
Apr 2017
How The U.S. Can Leverage FATCA Bilateral Process
TaxConnections Member Professor William Byrnes examines whether it is prudent for taxpayers to trust the governments of the 117 countries that scored a fifty or below on Transparency International’s corruption index. The complete information system invoked by the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) encourages, even prolongs, the bad behavior of black hat governments by providing fuel (financial information) to feed the fire of corruption and suppression of rivals. Professor Byrnes recommends that the United States leverage a “carrot-stick” policy tool to incentivize bad actors to adopt best tax administration practices.
Article download at https://ssrn.com/abstract=2916444
24
Mar 2017
New FATCA Agreements Released, 2014 Agreements Expire
The IRS released Revenue Procedure 2017-21, which contains the updated withholding foreign partnership (WP) agreement and withholding foreign trust (WT) agreement.
The revenue procedure provides information on submitting an application or request for renewal of a WP or WT agreement.
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