Tag Archive for GAO Report

Overlooking Tax Expenditures Affecting The Federal Budget

The GAO released a report today called Tax Expenditures: Opportunities Exist to Use Budgeting and Agency Performance Processes to Increase Oversight (GAO-16-622). The report examines the estimated $1.23 trillion annual cost of special tax deductions, exclusions, credits and preferential rates AND how there is basically no oversight of these costs relative to discretionary budget items. Apparently, OMB and federal agencies were to review tax expenditures (there are over 150 of them) to see how they help agency goals. So far, only 11 of 169 expenditures were addressed representing less than one-third of the total cost.

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Written by | Posted in Federal • Tax Controversy

Too Many FATCA Loopholes?

According to the 175-page bipartisan staff report FATCA’s implementing regulations have created multiple loopholes, without statutory basis, in the disclosure requirements.

Among other problems, the Senate Subcommittee stated that the FATCA regulatory loopholes will:

1. require disclosure of only the largest dollar accounts;
2. permit banks to ignore, in most cases, bank account information that is kept on paper rather than electronically;
3. allow banks to treat accounts opened by offshore shell entities as non-U.S. accounts Read More

Written by | Posted in FATCA • International • Tax Fraud/Evasion/Crimes