[Post updated through 2021] More than a decade ago, so called welfare benefit plans were the rage for small business owners. Insurance agents, financial planners and even tax attorneys were all out hustling clients to invest heavily in these plans. According to the promoters, business owners could contribute and sock away hundreds of thousands of […]
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 […]
Another Can’t Lose Strategy Hits The Market
by Brian Mahany It seems that more and more we are reporting on companies offering “bulletproof” asset protection products. Moving your assets offshore might beneficial for some but thinking that you can purchase complete protection from all creditors “for just one easy payment of $995” is crazy. We chuckled this morning when we received an […]
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 […]
Don’t Become A Material Advisor – What You Need to Know About Abusive Tax Shelters
[Updated through 2021][Ed. Note – the following guest post is by Lance Wallach. The post originally appeared in Accounting Today on July 1st of this year and is being reprinted here at the request of its author. In his post, Lance details the dangers faced by accountants and others who prepare returns that involve abusive […]
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 […]
Uncle Sam Goes After Another Welfare Benefit Plan Scheme
by Brian Mahany The IRS and U.S. Department Justice Department have a special relationship with welfare benefit plan promoters and the brokers and insurance agents that sell them. They hate them. For over a decade, the IRS has declared that many welfare benefit plans are fraudulent and abusive tax shelters. Many of the promoters are […]
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 […]
IRS Pays CPA $4.5 Million For "Throwing Client Under The Bus"
For many people, that headline is probably quite disturbing. The IRS paid an in-house corporate accountant $4.5 million for turning in his or her own employer over an unreported tax debt. To add insult to the injury, the accountant’s identity is protected under the whistleblower rules. No one likes tax cheats but many folks are […]