Offshore Account UpdatePosted in on August 26, 2016
Recently, a 48-year-old Credit Suisse AG banker who worked at the North American desk for the bank entered a guilty plea with the U.S. government. The banker was considered a fugitive since 2011. Although he is a Swiss resident and an Italian citizen, this did not stop the U.S. government from going after him because of the role he played in helping U.S. citizens avoid complying with all of their income tax obligations.
Read MoreOffshore Account UpdatePosted in on August 12, 2016
Swiss banks have taken advantage of their namesake program, The Swiss Bank Program. This program provides amnesty to financial institutions from criminal prosecution if the banks take certain actions, like pay fines and turn over accountholder info. Banks are increasingly signing on, betraying their customers by giving the IRS extensive details about accounts.
Read MoreOffshore Account UpdatePosted in on July 29, 2016
If you are a U.S. connected person and you have foreign accounts, you have various obligations to the IRS to report those accounts. For example, among your obligations, you have to report foreign income. If you have offshore accounts with an aggregate balance which reaches $10,000 at any point during the year, you also have to file an annual Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR).
Read MoreOffshore Account UpdatePosted in on July 26, 2016
Every U.S.- connected person with foreign bank accounts must file an annual Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Account (FBAR) if their foreign accounts had an aggregate balance of $10,000 or more at any point over the course of the year. FBARs are also called Form 114, and the form must be filed electronically by the filing deadline. This year, that deadline was June 30, 2016.
Read MoreThe Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the U.S. Department of Justice have been going after Swiss banks for years for allegedly facilitating tax evasion among U.S. residents. The Swiss Bank Program was created in order to encourage banks to come forward, pay a fine and report account information voluntarily to the IRS. Banks that came forward could avoid criminal prosecution.
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