Tag Archives: FBAR
Foreign banks freezing out U.S. millionaires
Here is a Washington Post article that just broke that seems to contain a lot of text that we have already seen at sources like Bloomberg and WSJ. Nothing really that new.
Foreign banks freezing out U.S. millionaires
The comments page is interesting: there is one remark mentioning the fact that FATCA-level reporting is not required of American banks. Perhaps IBS members could put some comments there.
Your U.S. Financial Crimes Enforcement Network: hard at work Enforcing Crime
By any reasonable estimate, there’s millions of U.S. persons living overseas, while only 400,000 FBARs get filed per year — but in 2011, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) had the audacity to pretend they were getting nearly 100% compliance. The surprisingly-humourous Federal Register has the full story: “Amendment to the Bank Secrecy Act Regulations — Reports of Foreign Financial Accounts”. 36 Federal Register 37: 10234–10246, 24 February 2011. Relevant section begins at page ten thousand, two hundred and forty-four:
My response on Jack Townsend’s Open Forum Comments to Congress and IRS Regarding Tax Administration for Offshore Accounts (OVDP)
Like Petros, I have taken the opportunity to place a comment on Jack Townsend’s invitation to comment on an Open Forum. Below is my comment awaiting approval: Continue reading
Civic groups filling in where the IRS falls down on the job: educating immigrant taxpayers about FBAR and FATCA
Thanks to Congress and the IRS, ordinary taxpayers who migrate from one country to another face incomprehensible tax reporting and payment obligations, involving a burden of time and accountants’ fees all out of proportion to the actual monetary amounts involved. Immigrant and emigrant taxpayers who have failed to comply with these requirements despite their best efforts face huge fines. In response, voluntary groups are picking up the slack and holding seminars at their own expense to warn immigrant taxpayers about the burdens they face. The World Journal, a Chinese-language newspaper based in New York, reports on one such seminar held in Florida this past week. I’ve translated their article below.
Canadian Federally Funded Media Carries IRS Water: CBC scaring Canadians (UPDATED)
IRS cracking down on U.S. expat taxpayers: Steep penalties for Americans who don’t comply with U.S. tax laws (Updated: CBC has corrected the article)
We should call for an apology from reporters from our own government funded media who fail to point out the specific protections that the Canadian government has offered: (1) Never to collect taxes for the United States from a Canadian citizen. (2) Never to collect an FBAR fine from anyone ever. Why does Jon Hembrey of CBC News fail to point out these protections in his article? Instead, this is what we get:
Not OVDI, says Michael J. Miller, with regard to an offshore account scenario
Tax lawyer Michael J. Miller offers a scenario in a comment: A recent immigrant to the United States, Tom, had an offshore account with $1,000,000–the best manner to going forward is not OVDI!
OPT OUT OF YEAR 2012: Jack and Jill opt out and relinquish their US citizenship
Petros has learned that Steven J. Mopsick made one mistake about Jack and Jill: before paying their OVDI fines, they decide to opt out.
The mentality of Mordor : Montreal couple Jack and Jill belong to the UNITED STATES / Jack et Jill, un couple montréalais, appartiennent aux ETATS UNIS
Petros responds to Steven J. Mopsick, 30-year IRS veteran latest comment, that some Canadians have probably found that the Overseas Voluntary Disclosure Initiative penalty of 27.5% is actually quite a good deal, since these Canadians are tax cheats and frauds. UPDATE: Steven J. Mopsick responds with a Jack and Jill scenario of a wealthy montréalais couple with a Swiss Bank account.
From the archive: Open Letter to the Executive Director of the Society of Biblical Literature
This letter first appeared on December 8 (at the Righteous Investor), a mere four days before the official launching of the Isaac Brock Society.
A letter to the Executive Director of the Society of Biblical Literature, an association with over 8000 members, informing him why the author will not be renewing his membership: The US Federal Government is persecuting American citizens abroad of whom the author is one.
