William Byrnes | TaxConnections

25 Oct 2017

IRS 2017-2018 Priority Guidance Plan Includes Eliminating 18 Regulations

The 2017-2018 Priority Guidance Plan contains guidance projects that we hope to complete during the twelve-month period from July 1, 2017, through June 30, 2018 (the plan year).

Part 1 of the plan focuses on the eight regulations from 2016 that were identified pursuant to Executive Order 13789 and our intended actions with respect to those regulations.

Part 2 of the plan describes certain projects that we have identified as burden reducing and that we believe can be completed in the 8 ½ months remaining in the plan year. As in the past, we intend to update the plan on a quarterly basis, and additional burden reduction projects may be added.

Written by William Byrnes | Posted in IRS

24 Oct 2017

Congressional Chief Of Staff Charged With Filing False Security Clearance Form, Imprisoned For Failure To File Taxes

A congressional staffer was charged with filing a false security clearance form, announced Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division, U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu for the District of Columbia and Assistant Director in Charge Andrew Vale of the FBI’s Washington Field Office.

He was previously sentenced to prison for willfully failing to file an individual income tax return.

Written by William Byrnes | Posted in Federal • Income Tax • Individual Tax • Tax Penalties

18 Oct 2017

Will Equifax Executives Face SEC Charges For Selling Their Shares Before the Public Disclosure of 145 Million Hacked Consumer Files Led to Share Price Collapse?

From mid-May 2017 through July 2017 Equifax, one of the nation’s three major credit reporting agencies, allowed the personal and financial records of 145.5 million American consumers to be collected by nefarious criminal actors. On March 8, 2017, reports the New York Post, Equifax had been warned by the Department of Homeland Security about the software flaw that could lead to the breach, but Equifax did not patch the flaw.

Equifax, as reported by the Federal Trade Commission, allowed access to people’s names, Social Security numbers, birth dates, addresses and, in some instances, driver’s license numbers. They also stole credit card numbers for about 209,000 people and dispute documents with personal identifying information for about 182,000 people. UK and Canada personal information was also hacked.

Written by William Byrnes | Posted in Equifax • Securities and Exchange Commission

17 Oct 2017

SEC Obtains $58 Million Judgment Against Perpetrator of International Pump-and-Dump Scheme Involving Marley Coffee

The Securities and Exchange Commission obtained a $58 million judgment against a UK and Canadian resident charged with perpetrating a multi million-dollar, international pump-and-dump scheme involving the stock of Jammin’ Java Corp., a company that used trademarks of the late reggae artist Bob Marley to sell coffee products.

The final judgment against Wayne Weaver, entered on October 2, 2017, permanently enjoins Weaver from violating Section 5 of the Securities Act of 1933, Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder, and Section 13(d) of the Exchange Act and Rules 13d-1 and 13d-2 thereunder; permanently bars Weaver from participating in penny stock offerings; and orders Weaver to pay disgorgement of $26,371,585, prejudgment interest of $5,221,809, and a civil penalty of $26,371,585, for a total of $57,964,979. On September 15, 2017, Weaver filed a notice of appeal.

Written by William Byrnes | Posted in International • Securities and Exchange Commission

11 Oct 2017

FATCA’S Unintended Consequences – Feeding Corruption And Suppression Of Political Rivals

FATCA’s primary purpose was for the U.S. government to obtain otherwise private financial information and exercise control of the global financial industry. Unlike a conventional withholding tax which actually intends to collect tax, FATCA imposes penalties based upon non-compliance with tax.

The tax revenue projections, which were used to validate the passage of FATCA did not show FATCA raising any significant tax revenue annually. In fact, except for the extraordinary penalties assessed, little additional tax has been collected. In comparison to the annual on budget spending by the U.S. government, the actual amount of tax collected by FATCA is statistically insignificant.

Written by William Byrnes | Posted in FATCA

04 Oct 2017

EU Commission Proposes Tax System for Digital Sales

The European Commission is launching a new EU agenda to ensure that the digital economy is taxed in a fair and growth-friendly way. The Communication adopted by the Commission sets out the challenges Member States currently face when it comes to acting on this pressing issue and outlines possible solutions to be explored.

The aim is to ensure a coherent EU approach to taxing the digital economy that supports the Commission’s key priorities of completing the Digital Single Market and ensuring the fair land effective taxation of all companies. Today’s Communication paves the way for a legislative proposal on EU rules for the taxation of profits in the digital economy, as confirmed by President Juncker in the 2017 State of the Union. Those rules could be set out as early as spring 2018. Today’s paper should also feed into international work in this area, notably in the G20 and the OECD. Read More

Written by William Byrnes | Posted in Europe

25 Jul 2016

ECJ Strikes Down Withholding Tax On Interest To Non Resident

Clifford Chance reports that “The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) yesterday ruled that the EU fundamental freedoms preclude Member States from imposing withholding tax on interest paid to EU financial institutions, unless the financial institutions can claim a deduction for their financing costs and other expenses.”

Case decision here

Written by William Byrnes | Posted in Europe • Tax Law

20 Jul 2016

Congress’s Recent Changes To The ITIN Program Present Significant Challenges To Both Taxpayers And The IRS

Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers (ITIN) are needed by taxpayers who have a tax return filing requirement but are not eligible for a Social Security Number (SSN). In recent years, an average of 4.6 million taxpayers filed returns that included an ITIN. During the calendar year (CY) 2015, the IRS received approximately 870,000 Forms W-7, Application for IRS Individual Taxpayer Identification Number. When taxpayers cannot obtain an ITIN, they may experience financial hardship, miss out on tax benefits, and face business limitations.

Written by William Byrnes | Posted in IRS • Tax Changes

15 Jul 2016

Too Big To Jail: Why Justice Department Did Not Prosecute HSBC

The House Financial Services Committee on Monday released a staff report of its investigation into the U.S. Department of Justice’s decision not to prosecute HSBC or any of its executives or employees for serious violations of U.S. anti-money laundering laws and related offenses.

Written by William Byrnes | Posted in Tax Fraud/Evasion/Crimes • Tax Policy • United States

14 Jul 2016

The Major Contenders For London’s Relocating European Financial Center

As I hear it, if the Netherlands were to substantively amend its ‘maximum 20% bonus of salary’ regulation, then the relocation decision for many EU facing funds would be an easy choice. But because of that regulation, it has created an opportunity for other cities to pitch to the institutions for the funds and trading business relocation.

Written by William Byrnes | Posted in Europe • Tax Law Changes • Tax Legislation • Tax Updates

12 May 2016

More than 1,700 entities disclosed on the Panama Papers leak have also registered with the IRS that they comply with FATCA

Following yesterday’s Panama Papers Leak it can be seen that at least 1,700 legal entities on that list are also on the IRS list that “includes all foreign financial institutions and branches with approved FATCA registration at the time the list is compiled”.

Written by William Byrnes | Posted in FATCA • Mossack Fonseca • Panamanian Leak