by Brian Mahany We are never surprised anymore when the feds announce a new wave of indictments against taxpayers with unreported accounts. Until 2008, the IRS didn’t look very hard and prosecutions were few. As the economy has soured, tax authorities around the world have become quite creative in finding new revenue streams. To enforce […]
Treasury Hunting Nominee Accounts – IRS Whistleblower Post
[Updated 2021] The U.S. government is getting quite sophisticated in its hunt for unreported foreign accounts and those they believe are laundering money. While most people who haven’t reported their offshore bank and brokerage accounts don’t have a clue about the disclosure rules, some do. The people who have decided not to cooperate with the […]
Battle of the Titans
by Brian Mahany We hear of many people making claims against their tax preparers for not properly advising them of their foreign account reporting requirements. Lately some taxpayers are suing Swiss banks for allegedly providing them bad advise – like, “don’t worry you won’t get caught.” Now in what may be the ultimate lawsuit, billionaire […]
$25 Billion Mortgage Foreclosure Settlement May Backfire
by Brian Mahany When the five largest lenders signed a deal with the states and agreed to “pay” $25 billion to help homeowners keep their houses, there was singing in the streets. The states’ attorney generals hailed the agreement as a stunning victory for homeowners. Banks seized the opportunity to try and buy back some […]
Does The New FATCA Law Help Foreign Dictators?
by Brian Mahany Most of our posts are designed to help folks understand tax laws and to prevent people becoming victims of fraud. Although we often have strong opinions on tax policy, we try not to politicize this blog. Uncle Sam’s relentless pursuit of unreported foreign bank accounts and offshore income has generated many strong […]
Lawyer Indicted For Helping Clients Set Up Offshore Swiss Bank Accounts
by Brian Mahany The IRS and U.S. Department of Justice show no sign of letting up in their quest to ferret out U.S. taxpayers with unreported offshore accounts. Earlier this week Justice officials unsealed an indictment against a former San Diego tax attorney and two of his clients for alleging hiding millions in unreported Swiss […]
IRS Warns of Payroll Processing Fraud
by Brian Mahany Just 2 months ago (July 5th) we warned of various payroll processing frauds that prey on small businesses. The IRS must have been listening since they too just issued a warning. Because these frauds can bankrupt a business, the warnings bear repeating. Many small and medium size businesses outsource their payroll processing […]
Islamic Banks Next Target of IRS? (IRS Whistleblower Rewards Post)
[Arabis translation below – الترجمة العربية أدناه] Beginning in 2007, the IRS began cracking down on Americans and other U.S. taxpayers with unreported foreign accounts. Owning an offshore account isn’t illegal but failing to report the account is. First, Swiss banks began to be the targets. The government accused UBS and several other Swiss banks […]
Tax Avoidance Schemes and Whistleblower Rewards
Hiding Money from Uncle Sam? Don’t! Every failed tax scheme started with folks who didn’t think they would get caught. And many of the people who end up in prison are pretty smart people. Doctors, lawyers, business executives and even billionaires. Each thought they had a foolproof idea. Many of those ideas involve tax avoidance […]
Ominous Storm Clouds Gather for Those with Unreported Overseas Accounts
[Post updated June 2019] I feel like a broken record lately about the current IRS offshore tax amnesty (called the Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Initiative). I keep writing about it because people keep calling with questions. Invariably, we are asked “will I get caught if I don’t report?” There is no easy answer to that. Surprisingly […]