What is Covered under the FCPA?
The FCPA prohibits payment of bribes to foreign officials to assist with obtaining or retaining business. It also requires companies whose securities are listed in the US to make and keep books and records that accurately and fairly reflect their transactions and devise and maintain adequate systems of internal accounting controls. Violations of the FCPA […]
FinCEN: Mission, Priorities and Successes
On April 27, 2023, Himamauli Das, Acting Director of FinCEN spoke before the Committee on Financial Services U.S. House of Representatives. His Statement reiterated FinCEN’s mission to safeguard the financial system from illicit use, combat money laundering and its related crimes including terrorism, and promote national security through the strategic use of financial authorities and […]
Form 1099-K: Understanding what the IRS wants you to know
The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 lowered the threshold for reporting third party network transactions from aggregate payments exceeding $20,000 to aggregate payments exceeding $600 during the calendar year and eliminated the 200-transaction threshold for reporting third party network transactions entirely with respect to Form 1099-K. Although the IRS announced in late 2022 that […]
Managing Third-Party Relationships and Risks
On June 6, 2023, Federal Bank Regulatory Agencies (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (FRB), and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC)) issued final joint guidance designed to help banking organizations manage risks associated with third-party relationships, including relationships with financial technology companies. The Agencies […]
Digital Assets Transactions Subject to IRS Increased Enforcement Activities
On 4/5/23, the IRS published the Inflation Reduction Act Strategic Operating Plan where it states that the Agency will pursue enforcement for complex, high-risk and emerging issues; including digital assets transactions. IRS reports in its Operating Plan that digital asset transactions have high risk for non-compliance. Despite the IRS’s resource limitations, the Agency reports that […]
Offshore Digital Assets Information Exchange Coming!
The Biden Administration General Explanations of the Administration’s Revenue Proposals for Fiscal Year 2024 discusses the proposal for exchange of information reporting by financial institutions and offshore digital asset brokers. The proposal for exchange of information stems from the sentiment that tax evasion using digital assets continues to be a rapidly growing problem. The global […]
GAO highlights Underreporting, Underpayment and Non-filing of Taxes
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) is known as the U.S. “congressional watchdog,”. GAO is an independent, non-partisan agency that works for Congress by examining how taxpayer dollars are spent and provides Congress and federal agencies with objective, non-partisan, fact-based information to help the government save money and work more efficiently. On 2/27/23, GAO issued […]
Social Media Tax Advice? Could be bad news!
On 3/20/23, the IRS launched its 2023 “Dirty Dozen” list with new warnings each day about common scams taxpayers (individuals and business) should avoid. Some items on the Dirty Dozen list are new, and some make a return visit. The Dirty Dozen is intended to alert taxpayers and the tax professional community about various scams […]
High Income Filers are “Schematized” by Fraudsters
On 3/31/23, the IRS continued the release of its 2023 annual “Dirty Dozen” List – this time geared towards high income filers by presenting abusive arrangements that involve Charitable Remainder Annuity Trusts and Monetized Installment Sales. These tools can be misused by promoters, who can advertise these schemes to attract high income filers. “The IRS […]
Crypto Asset Related Activities Assessed by the FDIC
On 4/5/23, the FDIC released its 2023 Spring Consumer Compliance Supervisory Highlights. The purpose of the Supervisory highlights is to provide an overview of consumer compliance issues identified through the FDIC’s supervision of state non-member banks and thrifts in 2022. The FDIC supervises approximately 3,000 state-chartered banks and thrifts that are not members of the […]
Phishing and Smishing IRS Warnings
On 3/21/23, day two of the annual Dirty Dozen tax scams campaign, the IRS issued a Phishing and Smishing warning to taxpayers to remain vigilant against email and text scams aimed at tricking taxpayers about refunds or tax issues. The Phishing and Smishing alert appeared on the IRS 2022 Dirty Dozen as well which includes […]
FinCEN BOI Guidance
On 3/24/23, FinCEN issued its first set of guidance materials to aid the public in understanding upcoming beneficial ownership information (BOI) reporting requirements taking effect on January 1, 2024. BOI refers to identifying information about the individuals who directly or indirectly own or control a company. BOI reporting information reporting will be done directly to […]
