Williams Court Yields To Government’s Claims That It Be Given Expansive Discretion For Asserting Willful FBAR Penalties

In Zwerner, the jury imposed multiple-year willful FBAR penalties at the maximum. Recall that the maximum willful FBAR penalty is the greater of $ 100,000 or 50% of the undisclosed account’s balance on the key date (June 30, as interpreted).

The jury was not asked to review the IRS’s assertion of the maximum willful FBAR penalty. Thus, a key issue left unresolved was whether the IRS’s decision to assert maximum willful FBAR penalties is reviewable. Assuming so, what standard would the trier of fact – here, the jury – apply in determining whether something less than the maximum penalty Read More