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Monthly Archives: January 2013

US Court Authorizes IRS to Obtain Swiss Bank Wegelin's Records of U.S. Depositors!

January 31, 2013

 A federal judge has authorized the IRS to seek records from UBS AG, of U.S. taxpayers suspected of hiding their income in accounts with Swiss bank Wegelin.


A US federal court has granted the Internal Revenue Service's request for a disclosure order against UBS, which acted as US correspondent bank for the now-defunct Swiss Bank Wegelin, handling funds for its American clients.

UBS must now disclose records of unidentified Americans who concealed assets at Wegelin and possibly other Swiss banks.

 

Undeclared Income from Swiss Bank Wegelin or another Swiss Bank?

Contact the Tax Lawyers at Marini & Associates, P.A. for a FREE Tax Consultation at www.TaxAid.us or www.TaxLaw.ms or Toll Free at 888-8TaxAid (888 882-9243).

Source(s):

Reuters
Forbes

Read more at: Tax Times blog

Swiss to Accept Group Requests for Bank Information From Other Countries Starting Feb. 2013.

January 31, 2013

Switzerland will be able to provide banking and other details sought by other countries, that have concluded agreements with Switzerland on administrative assistance in tax matters to file “group”requests for information on their nationals suspected of tax evasion, even without their individual identification, provided the information has not been requested as part of some ‘fishing expedition’.

A new Tax Administrative Assistance Act will come into force February 1 and a resolution to this effect has been passed by the Switzerland’s Federal Council, a senior official in Swiss finance ministry said here.

With the new Tax Administrative Assistance Act (TAAA) coming into force next month, group requests in accordance with the international standards will now be possible as well.

Such requests would require a detailed description of the actions taken by any Swiss bank’s clients “to avoid taxation and must be clearly distinct from fishing expeditions,” the Swiss Federal Council has said in its resolution for the TAAA. This request can be made without requiring the authorities to first provide the names or personal data of the individuals targeted.

Fishing expedition is a term used for information requests without concrete indications of tax avoidance or other crimes and is generally undertaken with an aim to find something interesting.

The TAAA governs the execution of administrative assistance under double taxation agreements. The Act was approved by Swiss Parliament September 28, 2012, and a referendum for the same expired January 17, 2013, without a referendum being called.

The existing ordinance governing the implementation of double taxation agreements will be repealed when the TAAA comes into force February 1, 2013.

Undeclared Income from a Swiss Bank Account?
Contact the Tax Lawyers at Marini & Associates, P.A. for a FREE Tax Consultation at www.TaxAid.us or www.TaxLaw.ms or Toll Free at 888-8TaxAid (888 882-9243).


 

Read more at: Tax Times blog

Significant Changes in Final FATCA Regulations

January 28, 2013

 
As we have reported on January 17th,  in our post IRS Issue Final Regulations to Combat Offshore Tax Evasion, the US Treasury Department published final rules governing enforcement of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). The Final Regulations make a number of changes to the extensive proposed regulations released last February, in particular:

  • All debt obligations outstanding on January 1, 2014, are exempt from FATCA.

  • Passive entities (such as trusts) that are not professionally managed will be treated as NFFEs, not FFIs.

  • The categories of "deemed compliant" FFIs and retirement funds that are considered exempt are expanded.

  • All pre-existing accounts held by individuals with balances of $50,000 or less are exempt from review. The threshold for review is raised to $250,000 for pre-existing accounts held by entities and for accounts that are cash value insurance or annuity contracts. Insurance contracts with a balance or value of $50,000 or less are not treated as "financial accounts."

  • A participating FFI can determine whether pre-existing accounts with a balance of $1 million or less are U.S. accounts based solely on a search of electronically searchable account information for certain U.S. indicia. In cases of pre-existing accounts held by passive NFFEs, a withholding agent may rely on its review conducted for anti-money laundering ("AML") purposes.

  • The ability of FFIs to rely on self-certification by entities holding accounts is expanded.

  • All accounts maintained by an FFI prior to January 1, 2014, are treated as pre-existing accounts.

  • The due date for the first information reporting by participating FFIs with respect to the 2013 and 2014 calendar years is modified to March 31, 2015.

  • Foreign pass-through payments and gross proceeds from sales or dispositions of property occurring before January 1, 2017, are exempt from withholding.

Are you a US Person with UNREPORTED INCOME from a Foreign Bank Account???

Have FATCA Problems???

Contact the Tax Lawyers at Marini & Associates, P.A. for a FREE Tax Consultation at:www.TaxAid.us or www.TaxLaw.ms or Toll Free at 888-8TaxAid (888 882-9243). 

 
Source:
 
Day Pitney


 

Read more at: Tax Times blog

CCM 201250020 – Use of Third-Party Return Information In Captive Insurance Audits

January 24, 2013


The Office of Chief Counsel, Internal Revenue Service, issued Chief Counsel Memorandum 201250020 on  Dec. 14, 2012 stating that:

"The Service may disclose the third party return information in the exams of the unrelated taxpayers to the extent the documents satisfy the “item test” of section 6103(h)(4)(B)."

The documents satisfy the “item test” if they directly relate to an issue in
the case, i.e. an element to be proved in the case, not just that other similarly situated taxpayers participated in similar transactions."

Need Experianced Representation for a Tax Audit?

Contact the Tax Lawyers at Marini & Associates, P.A. for a FREE Tax Consultation at: www.TaxAid.us or www.TaxLaw.ms or Toll Free at 888-8TaxAid (888 882-9243).

Read more at: Tax Times blog

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