Taxpayers with interests in foreign financial assets, financial accounts, and/or foreign trusts may have certain tax reporting obligations with the IRS. For example, taxpayers with a financial interest in or signature authority over foreign financial accounts with an aggregate value of over $10,000 at any time during the calendar year must file a Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Account …
IRS Increasing Enforcement of Syndicated Conservation Easements
A recent IRS press release announced a significant increase in enforcement actions focused on syndicated conservation easement transactions. The IRS announced that these transactions are a “priority compliance area for the agency.” The enforcement actions are directed as “coordinated examinations” across various divisions of the IRS. The Criminal Investigation Division has initiated separate investigations as well. All told, the …
Doing Business With the IRS
ASK THE IRS TO ABATE PENALTIES – ALL THEY CAN SAY IS NO!
The Willful FBAR Penalty: Bedrosian and New Insights
The Third Circuit Court of Appeals recently issued its much-anticipated decision in Bedrosian v. United States. The opinion reviewed a lower court’s decision refusing to apply the willful FBAR penalty. See our prior post on the case here. The appellate court’s decision ultimately remanded the case back to the lower court for further analysis. The FBAR Reporting Requirement: Congress …
FBAR Penalty Update
The IRS recently succeeded in imposing a hefty penalty against a US taxpayer for failing to report a foreign bank account in the case of Norman v. United States, 183 Fed. Cl. 189 (2018). That penalty was equal to 50 percent of the balance of the taxpayer’s unreported foreign account at the time of the failure. As a brief background, …
A Graev Matter: § 6751
According to the Internal Revenue Code, the IRS must follow certain specific procedures when assessing penalties, such as approval in writing by the immediate supervisor of the individual making the penalty determination. The IRS must comply with these procedures for the Tax Court to uphold the penalties. Supreme Court Justice Kavanaugh previously held: “A court’s assessment of an agency’s compliance …
IRS Tax Penalties on the Rise, Particularly Employment Tax Penalties
The IRS recently issued its annual Data Book, providing a glimpse into the world of tax administration during the past fiscal year. The recent release provides a number of interesting takeaways, but here are a few of the highlights: The IRS assessed $27.3 billion in civil penalties during FY 2016. The IRS assessed close to $12.5 billion in additional taxes …
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