Category: IRS

Swiss Taxpayer Wins US Tax Treaty Refund Dispute

The United States District Court for the District of Columbia on January 31 ruled in favor of Starr International Company in a case concerning an erroneous refund paid to the taxpayer, which the IRS sought to reclaim. In 2011, the IRS erroneously issued a USD21m refund to Starr International Company,… – Continue reading

Apple Could Get a $4 Billion Boost From Tax-Law Quirk

Microsoft, Cisco might also benefit from GOP bill ‘loophole’ Law gives some firms edge in paring offshore cash tax tab Companies that stockpiled trillions of dollars offshore free of U.S. income tax may get one last break before paying up — provided their fiscal years don’t follow the calendar year…. – Continue reading

Daily Tax Update – September 25, 2017: IRS Issues FATCA Taxpayer Identification Number Guidance

IRS Issues FATCA Taxpayer Identification Number Guidance: Today, the IRS issued Notice 2017-46, which modifies the requirements for financial institutions to collect taxpayer identification numbers (TINs) as part of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). The notice provides that foreign financial institutions (FFIs) required to report TINs for US… – Continue reading

US Hearing On Improving IRS Appeals Process

On September 13, the US Ways and Means Oversight Subcommittee launched a hearing on improving the resolution process for taxpayer disputes and appeals with the Internal Revenue Service. The hearing is said to be the fourth in a series of attempts to reform and improve the IRS appeals process. “In… – Continue reading

US government delays Obama earnings-stripping rule deadline

The change converts tax-deductible interest payments employed by the schemes into taxable stock dividends. The U.S. government on Friday gave companies an extra year to comply with an Obama-era regulation meant to crack down on corporations that try to minimize their U.S. tax bills by shifting profits abroad to countries… – Continue reading

Deal that sends Canadian bank records to IRS is ‘illegal,’ lawyer tells U.S. committee

Witnesses call for repeal of Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act An agreement that has resulted in hundreds of thousands of Canadian banking records being sent to the U.S. Internal Revenue Service could violate the U.S. constitution, a congressional subcommittee heard Wednesday. Testifying before a subcommittee of the House Committee on… – Continue reading

FATCA repeal on agenda of US Republicans

Washington’s Foreign Accounts Tax Compliance Act, known as FATCA, will be assailed afresh as lawyers and lobbyists renew efforts to repeal the law as part of President Donald Trump’s tax reform. Washington-based Jim Jatras, a Republican and co-leader of the Campaign to Repeal FATCA, says “lots is happening,” and his… – Continue reading

Transfer of Canadian banking records to U.S. tax agency doubled last year

Documents for thousands of Canadian residents transferred under controversial FATCA legislation Banking records of more than 315,000 Canadian residents were turned over to the U.S. Internal Revenue Service last year under a controversial information sharing deal, CBC News has learned. That is double the number transferred in the deal’s first… – Continue reading

Greece, US Sign FATCA Intergovernmental Agreement

On January 19, Greece and the United States signed an intergovernmental agreement (IGA) to facilitate compliance with the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) by financial institutions (FIs) in Greece. FATCA is intended to ensure that the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) obtains information on financial accounts held at… – Continue reading

Vizor Software’s Solution for FATCA & AEOI Selected by Government of Kuwait

Ministry of Finance – State of Kuwait recently “went live” with the Vizor Software for FATCA & AEOI solution to meet its FATCA obligations under the terms of its Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) with the United States of America’s Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Today, Vizor Ltd. announced the Kuwaiti Ministry of… – Continue reading

HMRC withdraws 3,000 demands for upfront payment from those accused of tax avoidance

HMRC has withdrawn around 3,000 of its accelerated payment notices APNs – which give recipients 90 days to settle up – were introduced in July 2014 The Revenue has come underfire for issuing notices with ‘too little consideration’ HM Revenue & Customs has withdrawn around 3,000 of its controversial notices… – Continue reading

HMRC withdraws 3,000 demands for upfront payment from those accused of tax avoidance

HMRC has withdrawn around 3,000 of its accelerated payment notices APNs – which give recipients 90 days to settle up – were introduced in July 2014 The Revenue has come underfire for issuing notices with ‘too little consideration’ HM Revenue & Customs has withdrawn around 3,000 of its controversial notices… – Continue reading

The IRS Must Adapt to Cryptocurrency, Not Accuse Bitcoin Users of Tax Avoidance

In light of the Coinbase case, expert Perry Woodin explains how the American tax system needs to deal with Bitcoin. It was recently reported that the IRS filed a petition in US federal court seeking full disclosure of Coinbase’s American customers records over just two alleged cases of tax avoidance… – Continue reading

Watchdog: IRS faces barriers in tax avoidance reviews

The Internal Revenue Service lacks a strong operation to audit a critical international tax compliance area, according to a watchdog report released Thursday. At issue is transfer pricing, a cost structure used by multinational companies to price goods and services they sell to subsidiaries in foreign locations. The IRS requires… – Continue reading

New Mexico settles lawsuit over immigrant tax refunds

The New Mexico tax department has agreed to stop automatically withholding income tax refunds from many foreign nationals without Social Security numbers who file under alternative identification numbers provided by the IRS, a New Mexico state senator said Friday. Sen. Gerald Ortiz y Pino said he co-signed the settlement as… – Continue reading

‘Israeli-Americans who did not do their tax homework at greater risk of penalties’

FATCA disclosure agreement takes effect, worrying some Israeli-Americans Dual American-Israeli citizens finally need to pay up. After years of the US Internal Revenue Service gradually baring down on American citizens living in Israel who evaded reporting income or paying taxes and numerous rounds of amnesty for those belatedly coming forward,… – Continue reading

Guyana formally agrees to share US persons’ bank account info with IRS

Guyana and the United States (US) on Monday inked an agreement, clearing the way for this country to share bank account information about American citizens and permanent residents with the US to help stamp out offshore tax evasion. “Today’s signing makes a significant step forward in our countries’ efforts to… – Continue reading

New Report Finds Corporate Offshore Tax Avoidance ‎a Growing Problem

According to a new report, secretive offshore tax avoidance practices are on the rise among multinational businesses. The report, released from the Financial Accountability and Corporate Transparency Coalition (FACT), finds that these practices put investors at risk because they are caught off guard when governments act to collect the lost… – Continue reading

Israel Joins OECD Tax Treaty

Israel has signed on as a member of the OECD’s international tax treaty, and as a result the Tax Authority will automatically receive information about bank accounts held by Israelis abroad. Israel, meanwhile, will automatically release information about foreign citizens who have bank accounts here to the governments of countries… – Continue reading

Disingenuous Statements About Tax From Apple’s Tim Cook

Apple is a major part of why the United States is the world’s leading innovator on new technologies, particularly those involving telecommunications and computers. The company has over 66,000 domestic employees, and a large percentage of its customers are here — at least 40 percent, according to its latest annual… – Continue reading

BUSINESS MONDAY: NEW AGREEMENT TO BENEFIT B’DOS, USA

AN Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) between Barbados and the United States will allow for greater co-operation under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). This is according to Julia Tonkovich, of the United States Treasury Department. Ms. Tonkovich stated that FATCA, which was in place since 2010, is part of the… – Continue reading

ABA Pushes IRS On Taxation Of Cloud Transactions

The Section of Taxation of the American Bar Association (ABA) has written to the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) saying that there is a pressing need for guidance from tax authorities due to the rapid growth of the cloud industry. The ABA noted that, although the Organisation for Economic Co-operation… – Continue reading

Panama Papers and US initiatives to identify entity beneficial owners

In early April 2016 files leaked from a large Panama-based law firm (known as the ‘Panama Papers’) brought to the attention of many the ways in which offshore companies and structures can be used to obscure the identity of beneficial owners, some of whom have used such entities to avoid… – Continue reading

IRS Proposes New QI Agreement for Foreign Banks to Comply with FATCA

The Internal Revenue Service has released new guidance on how foreign financial institutions can enter into a Qualified Intermediary agreement with the U.S. under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, or FATCA. Notice 2016-42, released earlier this month, outlines the proposed QI agreement, which revises and updates the current agreement… – Continue reading

U.S. Corporate Tax Directors Have a Hard Time Adjusting to BEPS

Tax executives at U.S.-based multinational companies are having a hard time adjusting to the new rules demanded by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s Base Erosion and Profit Shifting plan, also known as OECD BEPS, according to a new survey. While OECD BEPS is not a requirement in the… – Continue reading

IRS Overlooks Noncompliance in Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program

The Internal Revenue Service is missing out on imposing approximately $21.6 million in penalties on taxpayers who are denied entry or withdraw from its Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program, according to a new report The report, from the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, found the IRS needs to improve its… – Continue reading

CRA shared information on smaller bank accounts with IRS

Contrary to FATCA, accounts under $50,000 have been disclosed The Canada Revenue Agency has been transferring information about Canadian bank accounts worth under $50,000 U.S to the U.S Internal Revenue Service but cannot say how many accounts below that threshold have been shared with the Americans. Under a controversial information-sharing… – Continue reading

UK: Proposed Changes To The Non-Dom Regime From April 2017

The tax treatment of non-domiciled individuals is changing again from April 2017. The changes were first announced in the 2015 Summer Budget, and a Consultation document was issued in September 2015 setting out further details. The proposed changes target three key areas: The taxation of non-domiciled individuals who have been… – Continue reading

US plans reporting requirements for foreign-owned disregarded entities

US disregarded entities owned by foreign persons would be treated as domestic corporations under regulations proposed by the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) on Friday (REG-127199-15). The new rules would apply for purposes of the reporting, record maintenance, and other compliance requirements that apply to 25% foreign-owned domestic corporations under… – Continue reading

Proposed IRS Country-by-Country Reporting Regulations: What Do They Mean for You?

Genesis of CbC Reporting and How it will Affect U.S. Multinational Enterprises Country-by-country (CbC) reporting is essentially exactly what it sounds like: a report that shows every country where a multinational enterprise (MNE) operates and allocates income, earnings and pays taxes. The CbC report regulations proposed by the Internal Revenue… – Continue reading

Private Eyes They’re Watching You – Offshore Planning after the Panama Papers

Overview If you have been reading my articles on JD Supra for a while, you will know that I love Afro-Cuban and Brazilian music. Nevertheless, the Hall and Oates song Private Eyes, is a more fitting song to describe the state of offshore planning in Tax Havens than “Oye Como… – Continue reading

Tax incentives for small and mid-size companies

Most small and mid-sized companies can qualify for tax incentives if they claim to be developing, engineering, designing, modifying, researching or evaluating new products or product alternatives. Among those incentives is the research and development tax credit. The R&D credit is a way for companies to access cash and reduce… – Continue reading

Panama Papers Expose Celebs, Politicians, Billionaires With Offshore Tax Havens Despite FATCA

The Panama Papers–the biggest leak of financial data in history–has blown the lid off offshore tax havens, again. This time, those in the limelight include twelve current or former world leaders, many celebrities, and wealthy persons who are using offshore tax havens to hide their wealth. In scope, this is… – Continue reading

Warning: the IRS could file your return if you don’t, with troubling consequences

The tax world is clearly becoming more interconnected and globalized with countries exchanging financial information about each other’s citizens through FATCA or the upcoming Common Reporting Standard (CRS). Every international decision a taxpayer makes – whether or not he or she is residing in the U.S. – can trigger something,… – Continue reading

US Taxpayers Dash To Tell About Offshore Accounts

US President Barack Obama’s Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) is really starting to bite on American taxpayers and expats with offshore bank accounts and investments. FATCA came reached the statute books in 2010, but did not come into force until July 2014. The law calls for hundreds of thousands… – Continue reading

Implementation Status of US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (“FATCA”) in Malaysia

In March 2010, the FATCA was enacted in the United States (“US“) for the purpose of preventing the non-compliance of US persons with US taxation laws through the participation and cooperation of foreign governments and financial institutions. FATCA Implementation in Malaysia On 30 June 2014, Malaysia reached an agreement in… – Continue reading