Answers to the Most Frequently Asked Questions Regarding Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program
As a tax attorney specializing in the Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program (OVDP), nary a day goes by that I don’t get a call from a person inquiring about the OVDP. The questions asked are relatively the same. After a while, I began to make a list of the most frequently asked questions. Below are my answers to them: (continued)
IV. What kinds of assets does the 27.5% penalty apply to?
The offshore penalty applies to:
(1) All assets directly owned by the taxpayer, including (i) financial accounts holding cash, securities or other custodial assets; (ii) tangible assets such as real estate or art; and (iii) intangible assets such as patents or stocks or other interests in a U.S. or foreign business.
(2) Assets that are indirectly held or controlled by the taxpayer through an entity. The penalty may be applied to the taxpayer’s interest in the entity. But if the entity is an alter ego of the taxpayer, then the penalty may be applied to the taxpayer’s interest in the underlying assets.
Tax non-compliance includes not just the failure to report income from the assets but also the failure to pay U.S. tax that was due on funds used to acquire the asset.
Next: Part 4 – V. What years are included in the OVDP disclosure period?
In accordance with Circular 230 Disclosure
As a former public defender, Michael has defended the poor, the forgotten, and the damned against a gov. that has seemingly unlimited resources to investigate and prosecute crimes. He has spent the last six years cutting his teeth on some of the most serious felony cases, obtaining favorable results for his clients. He knows what it’s like to go toe to toe with the government. In an adversarial environment that is akin to trench warfare, Michael has developed a reputation as a fearless litigator.
Michael graduated from the Thomas M. Cooley Law School. He then earned his LLM in International Tax. Michael’s unique background in tax law puts him into an elite category of criminal defense attorneys who specialize in criminal tax defense. His extensive trial experience and solid grounding in all major areas of taxation make him uniquely qualified to handle any white-collar case.
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