FBAR FILING, To File or not to file – Hear the TRUTH about FBAR Filing
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The latest buzz about FBAR Filing.
There is now a natural fear about FBAR like never before.
There has been much debate for FBAR Filers whether to come out of the closet or stay and hunker down. For those who are not sure here are some things you may want to consider.
The questions are these:
1. Do I file FBAR ?
2. If I file, how should I file FBAR?
3. Should I make a quite disclosure?
4. Am I in any trouble?
Our general advice is this, ” Contact us or the IRS before the IRS contacts you “
IRS is firing warning shots about FBAR filings and the news of not good ss you have not filed.
Without question your should file your FBAR filings because the IRS absolutely means business. when IRS announced it amnesty period for FBAR about 33,000 taxpayers or individual came forward to file and avoid the possibility of prison time in Club Fed.
The IRS collected over $5.5 billion large and with that kind of haul the IRS is not about the stop. With the leverage of a prison sentence the IRS will proceed forward with vigor.
What to do next.
Depending on your situation will depend how you move forward with the IRS. Most cases are very simple and taxpayers need little of no help but for taxpayers or individuals with larges amount of unreported cash I would strongly suggest speaking to an experienced tax professional . that person will tell you given on your facts the next move.
Many times it is best to pay the tax then move on into the sunset but every case is different and decisions have to be made based on those circumstances.
Liechtenstein the falling of:
One of the great safe haven of monies buried by taxpayers from the US was in Liechtenstein and Liechtenstein has given way to US pressure and is turning over records relative to taxpayers holding and financial records
With the explosion of the UBS the domino’s started to fall and one of the questions everyone was asking was, ” would Liechtenstein ever fall ?”.
It did and now, taxpayers are scrambling.
Liechtenstein finally informed on their Bank Clients on the U.S. Tax Evasion Request
Liechtenstein has told American clients of the principality’s oldest bank that U.S. authorities have requested their account data as they widen a tax evasion and potential tax fraud probe.
Bank Accounts at‘ Liechtensteinische Landesbank AG (LLB)” that contained at least $500,000 at any time since the beginning of 2004 are covered by the information request, according to a May 30 letter sent to a client by the principality’s tax authority.
Liechtenstein facilitated the so-called group request from the U.S. by amending a tax law in March.
Thew country of Liechtenstein’s second-biggest bank, also known as LLB, is one of 11 financial firms, including Credit Suisse Group AG (CSGN) and Julius Baer Group Ltd. (BAER), being investigated as part of a U.S. probe of offshore tax evasion.
The Stakes for for Financial Institution and Individuals
The stakes for Swiss banks and financial institutions were raised after the Department of Justice indicted Wegelin & Co. on Feb. 2 for allegedly helping customers hide money from the Internal Revenue Service. The IRS is taking a very aggressive approach to collect monies on FBAR and are funding huge amounts of revenue to go after the deep foreign taxpayers pockets of monies.
The Motivation now in place.
“The motivation for the law is the Landesbank issue, which has accelerated the process,” said Mario Frick, a partner at Liechtenstein law firm Seeger, Frick & Partner. “For a certain period of time, it will be possible to make group requests to clean up the past and the issue of legacy assets.”
Landesbank, which had 48.1 billion Swiss francs ($50 billion) of assets under management at the end of 2011, confirmed it has received a group request via the Liechtenstein authorities, Cyrill Sele, a spokesman for the bank in Vaduz, said in an e-mailed response to questions.
Third Parties
“The ruling to extend the period of applicability back to the tax year 2001 in the administrative assistance law with the U.S. is limited to 12 months from the date it comes into force,” said Sele. It “is closely linked to the ongoing U.S. offshore voluntary disclosure program.” (OVDP )
Those affected by the U.S. request for information have the right to appeal, according to the letter. Many are doing just that.
In the Liechtenstein group request, U.S. authorities are also targeting lawyers, accountants, financial advisers, asset managers and those responsible for professional “asset protection,” who “conspired with a U.S. taxpayer to commit U.S. crimes or provided assistance,” according to the letter.
What is to come
“It’s a sign that the U.S. is not just focused on Switzerland, but on all offshore jurisdictions with Singapore, Dubai and Hong Kong very much on the radar screen,” said Milan Patel, a partner at Zurich-based law firm Anaford AG. “This request appears to be much more expansive than the agreement with Switzerland and aims to get information on third parties.” All foreign banks will eventually cave to US pressure.
Aspect more to come, keep checking our Blog Posts
UBS Precedent
Swiss banks are seeking a settlement with the U.S. as Liechtenstein’s larger Alpine neighbor, the world’s biggest center for offshore wealth, tries to shed its image as a haven for undeclared assets. That may involve negotiating separate deferred prosecution agreements with U.S. authorities. LARGE ACCOUNTS NEED PROFESSIONAL REPRESENTATION.
UBS AG, the biggest Swiss bank, avoided prosecution in 2009 by paying $780 million, admitting it fostered tax evasion and giving the IRS data on more than 250 accounts. It later turned over data on another 4,450 accounts. Before the UBS deferred- prosecution deal, U.S. prosecutors said the bank managed $20 billion in undeclared assets for American clients.
Landesbank declined to comment on whether the handover of account data under the group request would allow the bank to enter a deferred prosecution agreement.
Christof Buri, a spokesman for larger Liechtenstein rival LGT Group, which had 86.9 billion francs of assets under management at the end of last year, said the bank only has tax- compliant U.S. clients. The bank, owned by Liechtenstein’s princely family, declined to comment further.
Unwinding Secrecy
Liechtenstein started to unwind secrecy after data stolen from LGT was used by Germany to prosecute tax evaders in 2008. Former Deutsche Post AG (DPW) Chief Executive Officer Klaus Zumwinkel was convicted of tax evasion and received a two-year suspended prison sentence plus a penalty of 1 million euros ($1.25 million).
Under pressure from the U.S., Germany and France, Liechtenstein said in March 2009 that it would conform with tax standards set out by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development to avoid being blacklisted as a tax haven.
Markus Amman, a spokesman for the Liechtenstein government, and Katja Gey, who helped negotiate a tax deal for the principality with the U.K., didn’t answer calls to their mobile phones.
“It’s only a question of time, say three to five years, when this type of group request will become standard for future business,” said lawyer Frick. “Liechtenstein is a small country that has had a reputation for not cooperating in the field of tax and that’s something that has to change. We have to find new areas of business.
”Contribution made by Bloomberg/ Dylan Griffiths in Geneva. thank you.
Taxpayers with worries should contact our office today for a no cost consult. We can inform you of the possibility of making a quiet disclosure. 1-866-700-1040.
