Monthly Archives: July 2021

According to Law360, The U.S. Department of Justice recommended the Treasury Department disclose former President Donald Trump's personal tax returns, along with those for eight of his businesses, to the House Ways and Means Committee, according to a slip opinion published Friday.

Treasury should honor a revised request made in June for Trump's tax information between 2015 and 2020, the DOJ said in the opinion from its Office Of Legal Counsel. The request, by House Ways and Means Chair Richard Neal, D-Mass., should be deemed valid under Internal Revenue Code Section 6103(f)(1), the DOJ said.

When considering whether to honor lawmaker requests for sensitive tax information, the executive branch should assume that those legislators have acted in good faith in furtherance of legitimate legislative goals, and the appearance of political motivation should rarely lead to the denial of those requests, according to the opinion.

"The Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee has invoked sufficient reasons for requesting the former President's tax information," said the opinion, written by Acting Assistant Attorney General Dawn Johnsen. "Under section 6103(f)(1), Treasury must furnish the information to the Committee."

Neal made a request in April 2019 for Trump's tax information, which the government rebuffed. The request, under Section 6103, was made to allow the committee to effectively review the Internal Revenue Service's internal processes for auditing the president's tax returns, Neal said. After the administration likewise flouted a later subpoena, Neal sued to enforce it.

Have a IRS Tax Problem? 

  
Contact the Tax Lawyers at 

Marini& Associates, P.A. 

 

 

for a FREE Tax HELP Contact Us at:

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or Toll Free at 888-8TaxAid (888) 882-9243

Read more at: Tax Times blog

According to Law360, A New York woman is liable for $333,000 in penalties and interest for failing to report bank accounts she controlled in Switzerland and Hong Kong, U.S. attorneys in New York said in a complaint filed in  U.S. v. Bouskila, case number 1:21-cv-4243, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York.

Cecile Bouskila owes penalties and interest because she did not file Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts forms from 2004 through 2011 for several accounts she controlled, the government told the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.

From 2013 to 2018, Bouskila signed numerous consents to extend the statute of limitations for assessing the FBAR penalty for that period, according to the government. In 2019, the IRS assessed her a penalty for nonwillful failure to file FBARs, equal to $10,000 for each account in each year of the assessment.

In March, Bouskila settled with the Internal Revenue Service for an undisclosed amount in a separate case concerning the agency's seizure of $1.7 million from her offshore accounts, which the government said was intended to recoup tax liabilities she inherited from her late husband's financial interests.

Do You Have Undeclared Offshore Income?

 

Want to Know Which
Voluntary Disclosure Program
is Right for You? 

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

According to Law360, in the case of In the Matter of Tax Liabilities of John Does, case number 1:21-mc-00424-GHW, a federal judge said that he will allow the IRS to obtain from couriers and financial institutions, including FedEx and Bank of America, records of individuals who may have used Panamanian offshore service providers to hide assets, the U.S. Justice Department said on July 29, 2021.

U.S. District Judge Gregory H. Wood, of the Southern District of New York, approved Internal Revenue Service summonses Wednesday to seek the information from financial institutions including Citibank, Wells Fargo Bank and couriers including FedEx Corp. and UPS Inc. 

The Summonses Request Information on Deliveries and Electronic Fund Transfers Between 

Panama Offshore Legal Services and Clients Who 
May Have Used Its Services To Create or Control

Foreign Assets To Avoid Tax Obligations, The DOJ Said.

"The Department of Justice, working alongside the IRS, is dedicated to unearthing the use of foreign bank accounts to evade U.S. taxes," acting assistant Attorney General David A. Hubbert said in a statement. "We will use the many tools available to us, including John Doe summonses like the ones authorized today, to ensure that taxpayers are fully meeting their responsibilities."

The IRS is investigating taxpayers who may have used Panama Offshore Legal Services, which is part of a collective of related entities known as the POLS Group, to facilitate concealing income and assets from U.S. tax authorities between 2013 and 2020. The government has been seeking information from other entities, including MoneyGram Payment Systems, through a separate summonses request in Minnesota to investigate those who may have violated U.S. laws by hiding taxable income and assets.

POLS is a Panamanian law firm that advertises services including the creation of foundations and corporations as well as offshore financial accounts while promising clients "100% anonymity, privacy and confidentiality," according to the DOJ.

Through the IRS' offshore voluntary disclosure program, which allows for voluntary disclosure in exchange for fixed penalties, the government has learned of at least one U.S. person who used POLS' services to create an unreported offshore account and entity in Panama, the DOJ said.

Currently, there are no allegations against the couriers or financial institutions that they have engaged in any wrongdoing, the government said. Instead, the IRS uses the John Doe summonses to get relevant information when there may be possible violations of tax laws and the violators are unknown, the DOJ said.

According to a May declaration by IRS revenue agent Katy Fuentes, POLS also accepts payment for its services by wire transfer, and the IRS is aware of at least four U.S. banks, HSBC Bank, Bank of America, Wells Fargo and Citibank, that maintain accounts with banks in Panama known to be used by the POLS Group, according to the filing.

In his order approving the summonses request, Judge Wood said there was a reasonable basis to believe that certain people may have failed to comply with tax laws and the information sought by the government is not readily available from other sources.

The summonses will direct 10 companies to produce records that will help the government identify U.S. individuals who may have used POLS Group's services, the DOJ said Thursday.

"These court-ordered summonses should put on notice every individual and business seeking to avoid paying their fair share of taxes by hiding assets in offshore accounts and companies," IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig said in a statement. "These records will empower the IRS and the Department of Justice to find those attempting to skirt their tax obligations and ensure their compliance with the U.S. tax laws."

Do You Have Undeclared Offshore Income?

 

Want to Know Which
Voluntary Disclosure Program
is Right for You? 

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

A Florida resident should have known about the requirement to report his offshore bank accounts to the Internal Revenue Service, U.S. government attorneys told a Miami federal court, contending he should hand over unpaid penalties for late filings. (U.S. v. Slochowski, case number 1:21-cv-22596, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida).

Avishai Slochowski either knew or should have known about his obligation to file a foreign bank and financial account form, or FBAR, for Swiss and Peruvian accounts he held from 2005 through 2012, the government told the court in a complaint Wednesday. Government attorneys asked the judge to order Slochowski to pay slightly more than $888,000 in civil penalties for willfully failing to timely file FBARs, including interest and late payment penalties.

Slochowski applied in 2014 for the IRS' Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program, designed for willful nonfilers to come forward in exchange for protection from potential criminal liability and terms for resolving civil tax and penalty obligations, according to the government. As part of the program, Slochowski filed untimely FBARs and was later removed from the OVDP due to his failure to provide truthful answers regarding his dual U.S.-Peru citizenship, among other matters, the government said.

Read more at: Tax Times blog