The Internal Revenue Service audited about 30 percent of the returns of those with adjusted gross income of $10 million or more in 2011, according to statistics released on Thursday. By contrast, in 2010, the agency audited about 18 percent of that group.
Category Archives: Issues regarding US persons abroad
How the IRS treats foreigners in the US
Via TaxProf Blog, a new paper by Linda Dodd-Major and Paula N. Singer: “When Immigration and Tax Converge“, which criticises the the IRS’ confusing treatment of foreign nationals living in the U.S. I’ve quoted some choice bits below.
I hope we are not confused with domestic tax protesters or the sovereign citizen movement
I hope that they don’t fear us at Isaac Brock Society and put us in a parallel category with the “Sovereign Citizen” and “Freeman” movements because the only thing we want is to pay our taxes in, and only in, the countries where we live. We don’t claim to be immune from the law (our local laws in the countries where we live apply to us) we just claim that US jurisdiction does not apply to us abroad! Most of us live in sovereign nations that are independant from the US.
New letter from Flaherty about FATCA
As many of you may have gathered by now, I’m not a Tory, I’m a “Dipper” (NDP supporter) from way back. But I am beginning to like Jim Flaherty. Certainly more than any other Tory in recent memory (with the exception of Jim Prentice, for whom I also have great respect, after his stance for the free vote on gay civil marriage in Canada a couple of years ago).
In today’s mail (remember Canada Post?) I got a three-and-a-half page reply from Flaherty to three emails I’d sent last month. Actually not “snail” mail, it arrived the day after it was dated (but then, I live in Ottawa). It may be a new standard reply now, and others may have received one recently, but there’s a passage in it that I haven’t heard before, on FATCA, which I’d like to pass on, with pride and hope.
US "Persons" in Israel and tax issues
A couple of initial completely unscientific nuggets of information I found on this subject.
1. There are a lot of US Citizens living is Israel some of which arrived many years ago and in other cases arrived as recently as a year or two ago. On a per capita basis numbers as high or higher than Canada
No U.S. Tax Compliance, No U.S. Passport = Increased demand for a second passport
Cross posted from RenounceUScitizenship.
Citizenship renunciations are soaring under the Obama administration. In a move that is sure to accelerate this trend, as part of Tax Amendments to Senate-Passed Highway Trust Fund Bill (S. 1813), the ability to get a U.S. passport is now tied to U.S. tax compliance. The provisions are detailed. But, the bottom line is that the issuance and renewal of U.S. passports is now tied to U.S. tax compliance. I suspect that (at least initially) this will affect few people. You should read the complete article (courtesy of ACA). Note the following comments from lawyer Charles Bruce.
Continue reading
U.S. IRS forms 'SWAT team' for tax dodger crackdown
It is interesting to note that KPMG is working for the IRS as a consultant. Do you want them to prepare your tax return? They work for the IRS.
The IRS also sees something sinister in moving goods and funds from one country to another:
Transfer pricing is a booming field of global tax law. It involves multinational corporations that are constantly moving goods, services and assets from one subsidiary to another in different countries and how they account for these “transfers.”
“Moving goods, services and assets” is also called, “international trade”.
U.S. IRS forms ‘SWAT team’ for tax dodger crackdown
Life is full of firsts, including your first FBAR
Cross posted from RenounceUSCitizenship.
There are many firsts in life. These include graduations, weddings, and more.
Anecdotal evidence suggests that few U.S. citizens living outside the U.S. had ever heard of Mr. FBAR (until the mainstream media began educating people). One can’t file, what one has never heard of. That was until recently. Since the fall of 2011, the mainstream media has been educating U.S. citizens about U.S. tax compliance.
Tax and FBAR compliance is a priority for most U.S. citizens living outside the United States. The IRS has still NOT released the “compliance guidelines” that were promised when OVDI was reactivated in January of 2012. This is a major problem. By not coming forward with the promised guidelines, the IRS has become an obstacle to tax compliance. We are well into tax season. In any case, …
One of your most important firsts will be your first FBAR. You spent lots of time preparing for your other “firsts”. This “first” should be no different. Part of your preparation should be how to file those FBARs. Continue reading
House GOP budget plan to target taxes
Check out this article from the Wall Street Journal.
The following is of particular interest: Continue reading
CRA Replies Regarding FATCA
A couple of days ago, Tim posted the replies received from Canada Revenue Agency regarding FBAR, in response to a lengthy series of questions tabled in the House of Commons by Huong Mai MP (NDP), the NDP Finance Critic and the Vice-Chair of the House of Commons Finance Committee.