Search results for OVDP

What Does U.S. Citizenship-Based Taxation Actually Mean And To Whom Does It Actually Apply?

John Richardson - Citizenship Based Taxation

Before moving to the post, if you believe that Americans abroad are being treated unjustly by the United States Government: Join me on May 17, 2019 for a discussion of U.S. “citizenship-based taxation” as follows:

You are invited to submit your questions in advance. In fact, PLEASE submit questions. This is an opportunity to engage with Homelanders in general and the U.S. tax compliance community in particular.

I hope that this series of posts will give you ideas for questions and concerns that you would like to have addressed in the May 17, 2019 Tax Connections – Citizenship Taxation discussion.

Laura Snyder has graciously contributed four posts of this series. In her series of four posts, she has outlined the origins and requirements of U.S. citizenship-based taxation.

Ms. Snyder grew up in the United States and moved to Europe as an adult. The tone and pain reflected in her writing suggests that she truly identifies as being a citizen of the United States.

Read More

Written by | Posted in Citizenship Based Taxation

It Hurts My Heart: The Case for Fairer Taxation of Non-Resident US Citizens (Part 3 of 4)

John Richardson Part 3

Before moving to the post, if you believe that Americans abroad are being treated unjustly by the United States Government: Join me on May 17, 2019 for a discussion of U.S. “citizenship-based taxation” as follows:

You are invited to submit your questions in advance. In fact, PLEASE submit questions. This is an opportunity to engage with Homelanders in general and the U.S. tax compliance community in particular.

Thanks to Professor Zelinsky for his willingness to engage in this discussion. Thanks to Kat Jennings of Tax Connections for hosting this discussion. Thanks to Professor William Byrnes for his willingness to moderate this discussion.

Read More

Written by | Posted in Worldwide Citizenship Taxation

Alert: IRS First Wave Of 13 Campaigns On Business Compliance Examinations

IRS - First Wave Of Examinations

The IRS Large Business and International division has announced  the identification and selection of 13 campaigns. This is a significant milestone for LB&I in the campaign effort. LB&I is moving toward issue-based examinations and a compliance campaign process in which the organization decides which compliance issues that present risk require a response in the form of one or multiple treatment streams to achieve compliance objectives. This approach makes use of IRS knowledge and deploys the right resources to address those issues

The campaigns are the culmination of an extensive effort to redefine large business compliance work and build a supportive infrastructure inside LB&I. Campaign development requires strategic planning and deployment of resources, training and tools, metrics and feedback. LB&I is investing the time and resources necessary to build well-run and well-planned compliance campaigns.

These campaigns were identified through LB&I extensive data analysis, suggestions from IRS compliance employees and feedback from the tax community. LB&I’s goal is to improve return selection, identify issues representing a risk of non-compliance, and make the greatest use of limited resources.

Read More

Written by | Posted in TaxConnections

IRS Expands Compliance Reviews In International Areas

Phil Hogan - IRS International Compliance Reviews

In 2018/2019 the IRS is expanding their compliance review in several international areas. We expect that our cross border clients will be receiving some additional review on these items. I have included a list of notable international examples below (see the full list here):

1120-F Delinquent Returns Campaign
Corporate Direct (Section 901) Foreign Tax Credit (“FTC”)
F3520/3520-A Non-Compliance and Campus Assessed Penalties
FATCA Filing Accuracy
Foreign Earned Income Exclusion Campaign
Forms 1042/1042-S Compliance
Form 1120-F Chapter 3 and Chapter 4 Withholding Campaign
Form 1120-F Non-Filer Campaign
Individual Foreign Tax Credit (Form 1116)
Individual Foreign Tax Credit Phase II
Nonresident Alien Schedule A and Other Deductions
Nonresident Alien Tax Treaty Exemptions
NRA Tax Credits
Offshore Service Providers
OVDP Declines-Withdrawals Campaign
Related Party Transactions Campaign
Repatriation Campaign
Section 965 Transition Tax

Phil Hogan

 

Written by | Posted in IRS International Compliance

The Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Programs Still Lack Focus #3 Transparency, Violating the Right to Be Informed

Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program

TAXPAYER RIGHTS IMPACTED

■ The Right to Be Informed

■ The Right to Quality Service

■ The Right to Challenge the IRS’s Position and Be Heard

■ The Right to Privacy

■ The Right to a Fair and Just Tax System

DISCUSSION

Beginning in 2009, the IRS established a series of Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Programs (OVDPs), which allow certain people who have not reported all of their foreign assets and income to settle with the IRS by paying taxes, interest, penalties, plus a “miscellaneous offshore penalty” (MOP). It also established a “streamlined” program for those who could certify their violations were not willful. These programs are governed by frequently asked questions (FAQs) posted on the IRS website. 2 The Large Business and International (LB&I) Division Withholding and International Individual Compliance (WIIC) Director can approve minor changes to the FAQs, but the Commissioner or Deputy Commissioner must approve significant ones. 3 IRS examiners interpret the FAQs with assistance from technical advisors and Small Business/Self-Employed (SB/SE) Counsel.  They may also access training materials and job aids posted to a secure SharePoint intranet site.

The IRS Does Not Disclose Interpretations of OVDP Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Chief Counsel Advice from (or coordinated with) national office attorneys must be disclosed under IRC § 6110. 6 Other “instructions to staff” that affect the public must be disclosed under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). 7 However, the IRS does not disclose its interpretations of FAQs. For example, when the IRS first established the 2009 OVDP, it did not disclose how it interpreted FAQ #35, which addressed how to compute the “offshore penalty.” The guidance memo was only disclosed in response to a Taxpayer Advocate Directive. 8 Practitioners have highlighted other undisclosed and counterintuitive FAQ interpretations.9

Read More

Written by | Posted in National Taxpayer Advocate • Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program

You Are Personally Liable When You Have Signature Authority On Foreign Accounts

Kazim Qasim Foreign Accounts – Changes In Reporting

When most people think of foreign accounts, they think of ex-pat living overseas and utilizing banks for the accumulation of their payments.  However, many taxpayers may also be subject to the federal Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts or FBAR reporting without realizing it. The United States Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) 114 form is filed alongside taxpayers’ federal tax return and reports information for those that have a financial interest or signature authority over a foreign financial account.

Financial interest is defined as: directly owning an account; directly owning or indirectly owning more than fifty percent of a corporation’s voting power and/or shares when that corporation owns an account; directly owning or indirectly owning more than fifty percent of a partnership’s profits or capital when that partnership owns an account, or directly owning or indirectly owning more than fifty percent of the voting power, total value or the equity interest or assets, or interest in profits of any entity that owns an account.

Read More

Written by | Posted in International

IRC Section 965 Transition Tax – Part 7

John Richardson - Transition Tax - Part 7

Why The Transition Tax Creates A Fictional Tax Event That Allows The U.S. To Collect Tax Where It Never Could Have Before

This is the seventh in my series of posts about the Sec. 965 Transition Tax and whether/how it applies to the small business corporations owned by taxpaying residents of other countries(who may also have U.S. citizenship). These small business corporations are in no way “foreign”. They are certainly “local” to the resident of another country who just happens to have the misfortune of being a U.S. citizen. Read More

Written by | Posted in John Richardson Tax Lawyer • Transition Tax

IRC Section 965 Transition Tax – Part 5

John-Richardson- Investigating the Transition Tax

Shades of ODVP

This is the fifth in my series of posts about the Sec. 965 Transition Tax and whether/how it applies to the small business corporations owned by tax paying residents of other countries (who may also have U.S. citizenship). These small business corporations are in no way “foreign”. They are certainly “local” to the resident of another country who just happens to have the misfortune of being a U.S. citizen. Read More

Written by | Posted in Expatriate Taxes

IRC Section 965 Transition Tax – Part 3: The US Wants Your Pension

Canada, Transition Tax, John Richardson

This is the third in my series of posts about the Sec. 965 Transition Tax and whether/how it applies to the small business corporations owned by tax paying residents of other countries (who may also have U.S. citizenship). These small business corporations are in no way “foreign”. They are certainly “local” to the resident of another country who just happens to have the misfortune of being a U.S. citizen.

Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it Read More

Written by | Posted in Expatriate Taxes

IRS: Offshore Voluntary Compliance Program To End September 28, 2018

IRS - Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program Ends September 28, 2018

The Internal Revenue Service today reminded taxpayers they have until Sept. 28 to apply for the Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program (OVDP).

Since the OVDP’s initial launch in 2009, more than 56,000 taxpayers have used the various terms of the program to comply voluntarily with U.S. tax laws. These taxpayers with undisclosed offshore accounts have paid a total of $11.1 billion in back taxes, interest and penalties. The planned end of the current OVDP also reflects advances in third-party reporting and increased awareness of U.S. taxpayers of their offshore tax and reporting obligations.

Read More

Written by | Posted in IRS • Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program

No More Hide N’ Seek For Taxpayers’ Overseas Assets

IRS Is Ending Its Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program

The IRS is ending the Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program (OVDP) this September 28th. This program has given U.S. taxpayers an opportunity to come forward with ‘previously undisclosed foreign income, accounts or assets with the promise and certainty that they will not face criminal prosecution.

Since the program’s inception in 2009, over 56,000 US taxpayers have paid over $11.1 billion in back taxes, interest, and penalties through the OVDP, but the number of participants has steadily declined over the past few years – from 18,000 in 2011 down to only 600 in 2017.

Read More

Written by | Posted in Foreign Income • IRS • OVDP • Overseas Investments

If You Are A U.S. /Canadian Dual Citizen And Want To Be A Shareholder In A Canadian Business –  Renounce U.S. Citizenship

The unified message from all should be that: The United States should stop imposing “worldwide taxation” on people who have “tax residency” in other countries and do NOT live in the United States! This is a message that all advocates of tax reform can support. As recently explained in a post from American Citizens Abroad (ACA) the mechanism (RBT vs TTFI) used to achieve this change is less important.

It is no secret that Congressman George Holding  is working on a proposal to end the U.S. practice of imposing “worldwide taxation” on those who have “tax residency” in other countries. If successful, this would be a positive change for the United States, U.S. citizens who choose to live outside the United States and the residents including accidental Americans. None of these should be burdened by the extra-territorial application of U.S. tax laws!

Read More

Written by | Posted in Shareholder In Foreign Country • TaxConnections • U.S./Canadian Dual Citizenship
« Older Entries   Recent Entries »