Month: October 2015

Oh those tricky IRS scammers are still out there; we first noticed this phenomenon a few years ago, as well as the IRS. And it hasn’t stopped. In this article, we have listed six things to listen for when you get a call from someone who claims to be from the IRS.

On Thursday (October 29, 2015), the US Department of Justice announced new additions to the Swiss Bank Program that will soon be added to the “Blacklisted” Foreign Financial Institutions List: Luzerner Kantonalbank AG (Luzerner), Habib Bank AG Zurich (HBZ), Banque Heritage S.A.,Hyposwiss Private Bank Genève S.A. (Hyposwiss Geneva)

The IRS asked for feedback on many of its current and proposed Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program (OVDP) and Streamlined Process forms. In the video below, we describe our suggested improvements to OVDP Form 14452, Foreign Account or Asset Statement. Below is the text of the letter we sent.

Since the 2011 Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Initiative was first announced, and as it has evolved into the full – fledged 2012 Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program (OVDP) and eventually into the current 2014 OVDP complete with the Streamlined Procedures, I have been fairly consistent in …

The IRS asked for feedback on many of its current and proposed OVDP and Streamlined Process forms. In the video immediately below, we describe our suggested improvements to OVDP Form 14454, Attachment to Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Letter:

Claudine and I discuss how worthless the IRS Taxpayer Bill of Rights is. It’s so bad that many of the “rights” are essentially phony and entirely illusory.

It might sound strange, but there are some US persons looking to expatriate for tax purposes. Not only that, but did you know that there are great strategies and tools – – especially for individuals from Asia with high net worth – – in becoming a US person?

The IRS asked for feedback on many of its current and proposed OVDP and Streamlined Process forms. In the video immediately below, we describe our response. In Part II, which follows, we discuss change the IRS should make to OVDP Form 14457 the Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Letter.

If you mention filing bankruptcy to someone, often times you’ll get a strong reaction to that suggestion. There are times when it’s actually the best option to dig yourself out of tax debt.