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Monthly Archives: July 2020

Last Call For Voluntary Disclosure For 2017 Unpaid Transition Tax!

July 30, 2020

June 17, 2020 we posted LB&I Add New TCJA Compliance Campaign Including  §965 Transition Tax & IRC §962 Election!  where we discussed that IRS LB&I has added a new compliance campaign that will examine TCJA issues. 

This new campaign will examine TCJA issues on a select pool of returns and then share what is learned by these examinations throughout the IRS. 


Issues could include computation of:
  • IRC §965 Transition Tax,
  • IRC §250 50% Deduction for Corporate Taxpayer's, 
  • IRC §960 80% Deamed Paid Foreign Tax Credit and

  • IRC §962  Election to be taxed as a Corporation.

Now Douglas O' Donald, Commissioner IRS Large Business and International division said on  during a webcast hosted by the American Bar Section of Taxation, that: 
The IRS Will Begin Distributing Letters and Placing People Into Its Audit Pipeline in "October" To Enforce The Transition Tax On Overseas Profits Included In The 2017 Tax Law!
The IRS expects to sent thousands of letters to people who the agency expects may need to comply more fully with repatriation tax. Hundreds of others, who have flouted their related compliance responsibilities, will likely be placed into the agency's purview.
For Offshore Voluntary Disclosures, including Streamlined Offshore Voluntary Disclosures, if the IRS has initiated a civil examination of taxpayer's returns for any taxable year, regardless of whether the examination relates to undisclosed foreign financial assets, the taxpayer will not be eligible to use the Voluntary Disclosure Procedures. 
Have a 2017 TCJA International Tax Problem?

 Contact the Tax Lawyers 

Marini & Associates, P.A. 


for a FREE Tax HELP Contact us at:
www.TaxAid.com or www.OVDPLaw.com
or Toll Free at 888 8TAXAID (888-882-9243) 



 

Read more at: Tax Times blog

Panama Papers Accountant Scheduled for Jail Time!

July 29, 2020

On December 5, 2018, we posted Panama Papers Lead To Indictment Of 4 (3 Professionals & 1 Client), where we discussed that New York federal prosecutors announced the indictment of a lawyer and three other men on December 4, 2018 on charges of wire fraud, tax evasion and money laundering, tying the case to the 2016 leak of documents from the law firm Mossack Fonseca called the Panama Papers.
Law enforcement officials described the charges against attorney Ramses Owens, who remains at large, and investment manager Dirk Brauer, accountant Richard Gaffey and businessman Harald Joachim von der Goltz, all of whom have been arrested, as a warning to would-be tax criminals and those who would help them. The defendants could face decades in prison.
“The Charges Announced Today Demonstrate Our Commitment to Prosecute Professionals Who Facilitate Financial Crimes across International Borders and the Tax Cheats
Who Utilize Their Services.”

“The unsealing of this indictment sends a clear message that IRS-CI is actively engaged in international tax enforcement, and more investigations are on the way,” said Don Fort, who leads the tax agency’s criminal investigations unit. “

Now according to Law360, prosecutors are seeking more than two (2) years in prison for a private equity magnate and his former accountant whose $3.4 million tax dodge was exposed in the Panama Papers, saying the two elderly men need to serve significant time to promote respect for U.S. tax law.

Private equity manager Harald Joachim von der Goltz, 83, and his former accountant Richard "Dick" Gaffey, 75, have both admitted to concealing von der Goltz's assets from the IRS with the help of Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca. Millions of the firm's documents were leaked to the press in 2016, providing a glimpse into how the world's powerful hide their wealth offshore.

The pair are scheduled to be sentenced in September, and have both argued that their age and health conditions warrant lower sentences. In recent filings, federal prosecutors said that while neither man should serve the eight years called for by the U.S. sentencing guidelines, both should spend multiple years behind bars.

  • Von der Goltz, a dual citizen of Germany and Guatemala who prosecutors say abandoned his U.S. resident status in a bid to remain uncharged, has asked for time served, citing his character, age and illnesses. 
  • Gaffey, a Massachusetts resident, has lobbied for a two-year sentence to be served in home confinement because of the risk to his health posed by COVID-19.


Prosecutors told U.S. District Judge Richard M. Berman that they would not oppose delaying the start of prison sentences for the two men, depending on the severity of the pandemic at the time. However, they asked the judge to impose unspecified sentences longer than two years on both men. 


Have a Criminal Tax Problem?
 
 
Contact the Tax Lawyers at 
Marini & Associates, P.A.
 
 
for a FREE Tax Consultation contact us at
www.TaxAid.com or www.OVDPLaw.com 
or Toll Free at 888-8TaxAid (888 882-9243)
 
  


Read more at: Tax Times blog

Advice For Those Who Didn’t File An Extension on July 15, 2020

July 28, 2020

The IRS cautions taxpayers who missed the July 15 tax deadline and didn't request an extension, to file as soon as possible to reduce potential penalties. e-Filing returns can help expedite the process.

An extension to file is not an extension to pay; penalties and interest will apply to taxes owed after July 15.  

A taxpayer will usually qualify for relief if they qualify for First -Time Penalty Abatement or where they have reasonable cause for filing late.

1.     First-Time Penalty Abatement (FTA) - Generally, an FTA can provide penalty relief if the taxpayer has not previously been required to file a return or has no prior penalties (except the estimated tax penalty) for the preceding three years with respect to the same IRS File (IRM §20.1.1.3.6.1). or

2.     Reasonable Cause Defense - Under Section 6038 of the tax code, which lays out the information reporting requirements for individuals and businesses with an interest in foreign corporations and the penalties for delinquent filing, penalties may be abated if a reasonable cause exists for the failure to file. However, neither the statute nor the applicable regulations define a reasonable cause standard for the abatement. Treasury Regulations Section 301.6651-1(c) provide a definition of what constitutes reasonable cause for failure to file corporate income tax returns and says that "if the taxpayer exercised ordinary business care and prudence and was nevertheless unable to file the return within the prescribed time, then the delay is due to reasonable cause." 

Have IRS Penalty Problems?


 Contact the Tax Lawyers at
Marini & Associates, P.A. 


for a FREE Tax HELP Contact us at:
www.TaxAid.com or www.OVDPLaw.com
or Toll Free at 888 8TAXAID (888-882-9243) 


Read more at: Tax Times blog

Tax Court Will Keep Remote Trial As An Option After the Pandemic is Over

July 27, 2020

According to Law360, The U.S. Tax Court will keep remote trials as a possible option because of the greater access it offers to petitioners, Chief Judge Maurice Foley said One July 22, 2020.

The Tax Court already has said it will conduct remote trials this fall due to the pandemic. Keeping them as a future option would reduce burdens for those who may not live near a trial location and might otherwise face travel costs, need time off of work or need child care to attend in-person trials, Foley said during a webcast by the American Bar Association Section of Taxation.
"Although Remote Trials Were Intended To Address The Pandemic, They'll Remain In The Court Toolbox," Foley Said.
"It will certainly reduce court expenses and it will also be a less intimidating setting for taxpayers."
The court announced in May it would conduct trials remotely during its fall calendar session because of the pandemic, and it issued an administrative order setting procedures for holding the remote sessions.

Nearly all remote trials will have an audio live stream for the public to listen in, Foley said during Wednesday's webcast. What's more, remote trials could increase pro-bono representation for taxpayers, he said. Without travel limitations, pro-bono programs could extend representation beyond their geographic area, he said.

"To accommodate our remote proceedings, limited entries of appearance may be filed earlier," he said. "And we anticipate an increase in taxpayers seeking assistance."
Foley said the court will post "mock trial videos" on its newly redesigned website Monday that will provide a general sense of how remote calendar calls and trials could proceed. The court has already posted information about remote proceedings, including sample standing pretrial orders and FAQs.
Need Tenacious Representation in Tax Court?


Contact the Tax Lawyers at
Marini & Associates, P.A.   

for a FREE Tax Consultation contact us at:
www.TaxAid.com or www.OVDPLaw.com or
Toll Free at 888-8TaxAid (888) 882-9243

Read more at: Tax Times blog

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