I just want to draw your attention to the recent decision in the Williams case which some of us have been following. Robert Wood, just posted this story late last night.
The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals has handed the IRS a victory in its war on offshore accounts and income. In United States v. Williams, the appeals court reversed the district court’s holding that Mr. Williams didn’t act willfully when he failed to file FBARs.
Jack Townsend has also blogged about this. Fourth Circuit Reverses Williams on Willfulness (7/20/12)
Jack says, “The basis for the holding, I think, is the notion that the Court repeats that defendant’s signature on the return puts him at criminal as to anything that was not correctly reported on the return. The notion is that, even if he did not know about the incorrect reporting and the leads that he might have found to the FBAR, he is willfully blind — and thus willful — as to the failure to file the FBAR. I think that is a dangerous and wrong notion that is not facially limited to just FBAR situations and very bad facts. “
