Tag Archive for Ron Marini

Tax Bloggers Gaining Authority At TaxConnections

Our members blogs are read by visitors from 210 countries and territories around the world.  We are amazed as we watch our members gain better visibility for their tax expertise and more authority in the marketplace. TaxConnections Bloggers have a unique style that resonates with our readers. We love the way our Tax Bloggers make the stories relatable to our readers. When you are marketing for new clients the secret is to make it less technical and more relatable. This week I want to give you all examples of our Tax Bloggers who had some of the most read blog posts over the past year:  Michael DeBlis, John Dundon, Barry Fowler, Jeffrey Kahn, Manasa Nadig, Peter Scalise, John Stancil, Hugo van Zyl and so many more.

If you are interested in enjoying a wider distribution of your tax blogs and reputation to our hundreds of thousands of readers, please join us today!

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Swiss Banks Agree to Plan to End Past US Tax Evasion Issues!

Swiss Banks agreeing to US Plan for their depositors.Swiss banks are ready to pay hefty fines for sheltering United States tax fugitives under the terms of a new deal given the green light by the Swiss government on Wednesday.

While official details will not be concluded until the United States signs the agreement, both the cabinet and the Swiss Bankers Association (SBA) said the deal should finally settle past misdemeanors to the satisfaction of all parties without breaking Swiss law. “The signing of the joint statement should enable Swiss banks to resolve the tax dispute with the United States,” the government said in a short statement. The SBA hailed the agreement as the “final step towards a solution”, adding that “the protection of employees [threatened with criminal prosecution in the US] can now be afforded to the best possible extent.”

The agreement between the Swiss government and banks sidesteps the need for parliamentary approval, a crucial point given the rejection by both houses of parliament in June of the so-called Lex USA deal that promised to find an earlier solution.

According to the United States Justice Department, the total penalties expected to be levied against banks under the agreement will amount to hundreds of millions and possible over a billion dollars. Read More

Written by | Posted in Europe, Middle East • International • United States

IRS Targets Singapore And Hong Kong For U.S. Tax Evaders!

TaxConnections Picture - Fugitive Singapore and Hong Kong continue to be the target of United States prosecutors pursuing a global campaign against evaders of federal taxes, spurred by data acquired in their crackdown on Swiss banks.

Prosecutors are trying to determine what role financial professionals in Hong Kong play in tax evasion, according to people familiar with the matter. They are examining how much taxable money was moved to the former British colony that returned to China in 1997, whether accounts were based there in name only and what banks were involved, the people said.The push follows the government’s success in penetrating Swiss bank secrecy and learning from insiders how UBS AG helped Americans evade taxes. UBS, the largest Swiss bank by assets, avoided prosecution by agreeing in February to pay $780 million and disclose account data on 250 clients. In August, it agreed to supply information on another 4,450.

The government has made it very clear that they are interested in other secrecy jurisdictions, especially Hong Kong & Singapore.

The UBS clients who used Hong Kong & Singapore corporations told prosecutors how their bankers and lawyers helped them set up offshore corporations so their assets would be hidden in accounts that didn’t bear their names, court records show. Read More

Written by | Posted in United States

IRS Cancels Furlough Day for July 22nd :)

iStock_ Open XSmallWe originally posted on Friday, April 19, 2013, IRS Furlough Notices – Be Prepared which included a discussion that the IRS would be closed on July 22, 2013.

The Internal Revenue Service has canceled one of its five furlough days planned for this year under the automatic spending cuts known as the sequester.

Acting IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel told employees in a memo that the agency would no longer force employees to take unpaid leave on July 22.

So the IRS will be OPEN on Monday!

Written by | Posted in United States

IRS To Be Closed This Friday June 14, 2013

The IRS today reminded taxpayers that, due to the current budget situation including the sequester, the agency will be shut down on Friday, June 14.

As was the case on May 24, the first furlough day, all IRS operations will again be closed on June 14. This means that all IRS offices, including all toll-free hotlines, the Taxpayer Advocate Service and the agency’s nearly 400 taxpayer assistance centers nationwide, will be closed.

IRS employees will be furloughed without pay. No tax returns will be processed and no compliance-related activities will take place. In addition, the online preparer tax identification number PTIN system for tax professionals will also be shut down.

The IRS noted that taxpayers should continue to file their returns and pay any taxes due as usual. This includes the June 17 deadline for those making a second-quarter estimated tax payment. It also includes the June 17 filing deadline for taxpayers abroad and the June 30 deadline for filing foreign financial account reports FBAR Taxpayers needing to contact the IRS about these or other upcoming returns or payments should be sure to take this Friday’s closure into account. Read More

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UK Crown Dependencies Pushed To Accept FATCA

Beneficial Ownership Registries and Automatic Exchange of Information

We first posted UK mini-FATCA Agreements Spells The End for UK Tax Haven Territories!, on Monday, November 26, 2012, where we discussed that the UK government is about to reveal legislation imposing automatic client disclosure provisions on financial institutions in the Crown Dependencies and British Overseas Territories.

The draft, described as a UK version of the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), is said to mandate the automatic reporting of financial and beneficial ownership information for each account of each offshore financial institution to the UK’s HM Revenue and Customs.

The draft agreement requires the automatic exchange of information for each reportable account of each reporting financial institution. That will include full details of all beneficial owners of the account, including those whose identities might otherwise be hidden by trusts or companies.  It will also requires the account number, name and identifying number of the reporting financial institution as provided when registering with the IRS for FATCA purposes, and the account balance or value as of the end of the relevant calendar year or other appropriate reporting period or, if the account was closed during such year, immediately before closure. Read More

Written by | Posted in TaxConnections