IRS Voluntary Disclosure
US Voluntary Disclosure, Act II - The Final Curtain?
Against a backdrop of ‘quite advanced' investigations into banks and intermediaries in Europe, the Middle East and Asia, the IRS has announced a new ‘Offshore' Voluntary Disclosure Initiative aimed at noncompliant US taxpayers with unreported ‘offshore' bank accounts and assets.
The 2011 offshore voluntary disclosure initiative, a modified version of a program offered in 2009, gives taxpayers with unreported accounts a chance to come clean while mitigating the risk of criminal prosecution. The IRS has promised to actively ‘ferret out' noncompliant taxpayers by relying on a growing amount of data obtained from whistleblowers, disgruntled bank employees, tax treaty information requests, and the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (‘FATCA') provisions enacted last year.
Deadline
Individuals who wish to take advantage of the 2011 Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Initiative must act quickly. Noncompliant US taxpayers have until August 31, 2011 to declare accounts, file accurate returns and pay back taxes, interest, and certain penalties for tax years 2003 through 2010. Participants must also pay a penalty of 25 percent of the highest aggregate value of ‘offshore' accounts or assets during that period. A complete application is required for admission into the 2011 offshore voluntary disclosure initiative.
Noncompliant taxpayers who fail to come forward and complete a voluntary disclosure before the August 31 deadline will face ‘more dire' consequences including higher civil penalties and the possibility of criminal prosecution. IRS Commissioner Douglas Shulman has called the 2011 offshore voluntary disclosure initiative the ‘last, best chance' for taxpayers to come clean ‘while we have other banks in our sights.'
Please see the PDF below for further information on US voluntary disclosure and how we can help.
