IRS issues FATCA Relief but not for All
On September 6, 2019, IRS announced Relief Procedures for Certain Former Citizens. These are procedures for certain persons who have relinquished, or intend to relinquish, their United States citizenship, who wish to come into compliance with their U.S. income tax and reporting obligations and who wish to avoid being taxed as a “covered expatriate” under […]
Financial Institutions and the FCPA
The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) prohibits payment of bribes to foreign officials to assist with obtaining or retaining business. It requires companies whose securities are listed in the US to maintain books and records that accurately and fairly reflect their transactions as well as to devise and maintain an adequate system of internal accounting […]
Payers and Payees have Obligations to Comply with Backup Withholding
Backup Withholding requires a payer to “withhold tax” from payments that are not otherwise subject to withholding. A Taxpayer (payee) may be subject to Backup Withholding if it: • fails to provide a correct taxpayer identification number (TIN) when required, OR • fails to report interest, dividend, or patronage dividend income. A payer must withhold […]
Wondering about the tax treatment of a Cryptocurrency Hard Fork and Airdrop?
On 10/9/19, IRS issued Rev. Rul. 2019-24 addressing the issues of a Taxpayer having gross income under § 61 of the Internal Revenue Code as a result of a hard fork of a cryptocurrency that the Taxpayer owns if the Taxpayer DOES NOT RECEIVE units of a new cryptocurrency….… AND…… of a Taxpayer having gross […]
Can the “Corporate Transparency Act” jeopardize the USA as the preferred Tax Haven?
Can the “Corporate Transparency Act” jeopardize the USA as the preferred Tax Haven? This article appeared at the Daily Business Review on 12/10/19.
Does your Financial Institution utilize OFAC Risk Based Approach Matrix?
A Financial Institution’s OFAC risk profile is determined based on its products, services, customers and geographic locations. A Financial Institution’s OFAC compliance program is required to: Identify higher-risk areas Provide internal controls for screening and reporting Establish independent testing for OFAC compliance Designate a bank employee or employees responsible for OFAC compliance Create training programs […]
IRS “BEEFS UP” Section 965 COMPLIANCE for 2017 and 2018 Returns
On July 2, 2018, the IRS introduced a Compliance Campaign directed at Section 965 (Transition Tax) of the Internal Revenue Code (IRC). In its original launch, the Section 965 Campaign stated that U.S. shareholder are required to pay a “transition tax” on the untaxed foreign earnings of certain specified foreign corporations as if those earnings […]
Forensic Accountants are “Private Detectives”
The current environment of increasing change, economic pressures, globalization, technology, corporate governance, compliance and the complexity of financial transactions are driving forces behind fraud initiation. In addition, economic despair, a single unfavorable event, illness, negative cash flows or deteriorating creditworthiness are also drivers for committing fraud; as well as greed, which can lead to fraud, […]
Indirect linkages to Tax Havens
The U.S. income tax system is based on the idea of voluntary taxpayer compliance. It is the taxpayer’s responsibility to report all reportable worldwide income. Some people attempt to evade paying taxes by failing to report all or some of their reportable worldwide income. According to the most current Federal Tax Compliance Research Report, there […]
Taxpayers, have you sold, received, exchanged or acquired Virtual Currency?
During the month of October 2019, IRS issued Revenue Ruling 2019-24, FAQ’s on Virtual Currency Transactions and a DRAFT Form of Schedule 1, which, for the first time presents the question: “At any time during 2019, did you receive, sell, send, exchange, or otherwise acquire any financial interest in any virtual currency”? The Compliance Checkbox […]
An IRS “John Doe” Summons is a Powerful Weapon that can Puncture Attorney-Client Privilege
An individual that provides information to an attorney may normally assume that the information provided to the attorney will be kept confidential under the attorney-client privilege. That said, according to the Internal Revenue Manual (IRM), circumstances exist when attorney client privilege protection may be circumvented by an IRS weapon known as a “John Doe” summons. […]
The OFAC Sanctions Compliance Program applies to all
OFAC (Office of Foreign Assets Control) is a department of the US Treasury that administers and enforces economic and trade sanctions based on US foreign policy and national security goals. On May 2, 2019, OFAC published guidance titled “A Framework for OFAC Compliance Commitments”. The purpose of the OFAC Framework guidance is to encourage […]
