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Switzerland Disclosed 2,000,000 Financial Accounts to Foreign Governments

October 24, 2018

The Swiss Federal Tax Administration has disclosed details of 2,000,000 financial accounts to partner jurisdictions under the global rules for automatic exchange of information.  

The Federal Tax Administration (FTA) has for the first time exchanged financial account information. The exchange took place within the framework of the global standard on the automatic exchange of information (AEOI).  

It is the first time the country has ever revealed bank account information in such quantities, though Switzerland is still refusing to share data with some jurisdictions it regards as not sufficiently secure. 

This first exchange within the framework of AEOI provides that Switzerland exchanges in 2018 with EU states as well as with a further nine states and territories (Australia, Canada, Guernsey, Iceland, Isle of Man, Japan, Jersey, Norway, South Korea).

 
Transmission of Data by Switzerland Took Place at the
End of September 2018.


Cyprus and Romania are currently excluded as they do not yet meet the international requirements on confidentiality and data security. Transmission of data to Australia and France is delayed, as these states could not yet deliver data to the FTA due to technical reasons. Similarly, the FTA has not yet received data from Croatia, Estonia and Poland. The other partner states have transmitted data to the FTA.
 
Currently, around 7,000 Reporting Financial Institutions (banks, trusts, insurers, etc.) are registered with the FTA. These institutions collected the data and transferred it to the FTA.

The FTA Sent Information On Around 2 Million Financial Accounts To The Partner States And
Received Information In The Millions From Them.

Definitive numbers on information received are not yet available. The FTA cannot provide any information on the amount of financial assets.

Identification, Account And Financial Information Is Exchanged, Including Name, Address, State Of Residence And Tax Identification Number, As Well As Information Concerning The Reporting Financial Institution, Account Balance And Capital Income. 

The exchanged information allows the cantonal tax authorities to verify whether taxpayers have correctly declared their financial accounts abroad in their tax returns.

The AEOI Will Now Take Place On A Yearly Basis.

In 2019, data from 2018 will be exchanged with around 80 partner states, provided these meet the requirements on confidentiality and data security. The OECD Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes (Global Forum) reviews the participating states' implementation of the AEOI.
 
 
Have Unreported Swiss Income?
 

 
Contact the Tax Lawyers of

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


Sources:

Swiss Federal Tax Administration
Private Banker International (via Verdict)

Read more at: Tax Times blog

Former Texas Company CFO Pleads Guilty to Employment Tax Fraud

October 23, 2018

According to DoJ, the former Chief Financial Officer of an Austin, Texas based company pleaded guilty today to willfully failing to pay over employment taxes to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

According to court documents, from 2010 to 2016, John Herzer was the CFO of AXO Staff Leasing (AXO), a professional employer organization.

Herzer handled all of the company’s finances and had final authority over which creditors to pay and when to pay them. Herzer was also responsible for collecting and paying to the IRS taxes withheld from AXO’s employees’ wages.

Despite this obligation, Herzer did not pay to the IRS AXO’s employment tax withholdings and instead used more than $4.9 million of those funds for his own benefit including paying personal expenses and transferring millions of dollars to his own bank accounts. 

In Total, Herzer’s Fraudulent Conduct Caused A Tax Loss To The IRS Of More Than $13 Million. 

A sentencing date has not yet been scheduled. Herzer faces a statutory maximum sentence of 5 years imprisonment, as well as a term of supervised release, restitution.

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

Former IRS-CI Special Agent Sentenced to Prison for Filing False Tax Returns – REALLY?

October 23, 2018

According to the DoJ, a former special agent for the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation was sentenced to serve 51 months in prison for filing false tax returns, obstruction of justice, and stealing government money.

 
According to the evidence introduced at trial, Alena Aleykina, 45, who is also a Certified Public Accountant and holds a master’s degree in business administration, filed six false tax returns – three personal tax returns for years 2009, 2010, and 2011, and three in the names of trusts she created for years 2010 and 2011.  
 
  • On her personal tax returns, Aleykina fraudulently claimed the head of household filing status, listed false dependents, and claimed deductions for education expenses to which she was not entitled.
  • Aleykina also obtained a fraudulent legal separation decree from the California Superior Court for Yolo County so that she and her husband could claim rental real estate loss deductions to which they were not entitled. 

  • Further, on a trust tax return, she falsely claimed to be paying wages to her mother and her sister to care for her son and father. 
  • Additionally, Aleykina stole government funds and obstructed justice during the investigation. 
  • She stole from the IRS’s Tuition Assistance Program, a program created to allow IRS employees to take job-related classes from local colleges and educational institutions.
  • Aleykina falsely claimed to be taking English classes from a trust registered to her sister.
  • As a result of these fake classes, Aleykina recieved $4,000 in tuition reimbursement from the Tuition Assistance Program.  

When criminal investigators approached Aleykina to retrieve her government laptop, Aleykina lied to the agents about the location of the laptop and deleted dozens of files from the computer after the agents left. 

The total loss to the government from Aleykina’s conduct is more than $50,000.

Aleykina was previously convicted in June after a two-week federal jury trial in the Eastern District of California of filing false tax returns, destroying records in a federal investigation, and theft of government money.
In addition to the term of prison imposed, Aleykina was also ordered to serve one year of supervised release and to pay $4,000 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). 
 Have a 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

Qualified Opportunity Fund Benefits Foreign Investors Also.

October 22, 2018

IRS has issued proposed regs that describe and clarify the requirements that must be met by a taxpayer in order to defer the recognition of gains by investing in a qualified opportunity fund (QOF) under Code Sec. 1400Z-2, as added by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA, P.L. 115-97; 12/22/2017).

The proposed regs provide rules allowing a corporation or partnership to self-certify as a QOF and provide initial proposed rules on some of the requirements that must be met by a corporation or partnership in order to qualify as a QOF.

Taxpayer may rely on these regs as indicated in the regs.  (Preamble to Prop Reg REG-115420-18, Proposed Reg § 1.1400Z-2(a)-1, Proposed Reg § 1.1400Z-2(c)-1, Proposed Reg § 1.1400Z-2(d)-1, Proposed Reg § 1.1400Z-2(e)-1; IR 2018-206, 10/19/2018)

 
The basic concepts of the QOF provisions can be summarized as follows:
 

Step 1:  A QO Fund is formed and certified by the Department of Treasury.

Step 2:  An investor with a recently realized CG elects to invest this gain into the QO Fund, taking stock or a partnership interest in return.  By so doing, the investor gets to defer including the CG in income.

Step 3:  The QO Fund uses the investment to acquire “qualified opportunity zone property.”  This investment represents the QO Fund’s interest in the underlying business in the low-income community.
Step 4:  The investor holds the interest for as long as he desires or for some period of time as may be stipulated in the investment agreement with the QO Fund.
Step 5:  If the investor sells or exchanges his QO Fund interest before Dec. 31, 2026, he will recognize the deferred CG.  If the holding period is at least 5 years, the investor gets a basis allocation that will offset some of his CG (there is more basis allocation if the holding period is at least 7 years).
Step 6.  In any event, the investor’s CG deferral period ends on Dec. 31, 2026, and so if the investment is still outstanding, the deferred CG must be recognized then.  The holding periods noted in Step 5 are taken into account at this point.
Step 7:  If the investor holds his interest in the QO Fund for at least 10 years, he is entitled to a major fair market value (“FMV”) basis step-up so that any appreciation in the value of his interest can be excluded from income.
 
The QO Zone provisions give incentive to potential investors in QO Funds by allowing for:
 
(a) temporary deferral of CG recognition,
(b) a possible step-up in the basis of their investment, and
(c) possible permanent exclusion of CG from the growth of the QO Fund investment if the holding period is at least 10 years.
 

Want to Know more click here
  

 Need Help Forming A
Qualified Opportunity Fund (QOF)?
 
 
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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