Tax evasion is not just a problem for the wealthy. It’s a widespread issue that costs the government and honest Americans much needed revenues. Small businesses and sole proprietors are the largest contributors to the $450 billion tax gap (the difference between taxes reported and taxes paid) by skimming and under reporting their taxes. For their efforts, tax cheats are the focus of IRS scrutiny.
With IRS audits and aggressive IRS
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Government investigators reported that the Internal Revenue Service has recouped more than $5.5 billion for the voluntary disclosure programs. NPR sites an Associated Press article titled: Tax Cheats Pony Up $5.5 Billion in Amnesty Program highlights a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report that shows how through these programs the IRS was able to get people to come forward to report their offshore bank accounts and assets in exchange for reduced
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A recent Wall Street Journal article titled “Offshore Tax Probe Picks Up” shows the Feds continuing to go after Swiss banks both big and small. The government has also expanded their search for U.S. tax cheats in countries such as Israel, India, Singapore, China and elsewhere they believe citizens might be sheltering their secret accounts to evade paying taxes on them.
The article reports that on Monday Switzerland’s oldest private bank, Wegelin
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If you have unreported foreign bank accounts and assets, you will want to rethink your current status when you see how high the IRS is raising the stakes. A recent Forbes article by Robert W. Wood titled “Forbes Undisclosed Foreign Bank Accounts? They’re Even More Explosive Now“ makes clear how the Agency is using its generous resources to go after and prosecute tax evaders who, in spite of several years
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Most American citizens with offshore bank accounts know by now that they are obliged to report them to the IRS. Since 2009, the Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Programs (OVDP) have been instrumental in bringing hundreds of Americans including joint filing couples into tax compliance. But for couples, what happens to compliance if one spouse wants to participate in OVDP to come clean without the other spouse knowing? A Forbes article entitled
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There is little doubt that wealthy Americans are under scrutiny for tax collection. Nowhere is this more obvious than for those who have offshore bank accounts. More U.S. citizens living abroad are deciding to renounce their U.S. citizenship instead of facing IRS tax problems concerning new U.S. tax regulations namely the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) aimed at curbing tax evasion.
The subject of renouncing citizenship made front page headlines
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