FATCA

Michael covers FATCA -- the U.S. government's newest weapon in international evidence gathering.

When you drop a large rock into a pool of calm water, ripples appear and spread and eventually they will touch the entire surface of that pond, drastically changing its appearance. And the FATCA rock was a very big one indeed.

Recognizing that there is a substantial amount of money stored overseas that has gone unreported – and that will continue to go unreported if the government doesn’t put teeth into its veiled threats to taxpayers to “disclosure [their] foreign accounts or else” – Congress passed FATCA. FATCA requires foreign financial institutions (FFIs) to report specific information regarding their U.S. accountholders to the IRS.

It was passed in 2010 to clamp down on the use of foreign bank accounts by U.S. taxpayers to hide money that is otherwise subject to taxation in the United States. FATCA is the U.S. government’s newest enforcement tool in the fight against international tax evasion.

Please Note:   This course is eligible for IRS credit.  If you need credit reported to the IRS for this program, please download the IRS CE request form on the Materials Tab after you purchase the program and submit to leighanne.conroy@acpen.com.

Basic Course Information

*This webinar discusses the mechanics of FATCA, the ripple effect that this law has had on those with unreported foreign assets, and why it is one of the most controversial laws that no one has ever even heard about.

*Background

*International evidence sharing

*The environment that we now live in: The U.S. government's aggressive pursuit of U.S. citizens and residents with unreported bank accounts

*What is FATCA?

*Mechanics of information sharing

*What FATCA means for foreign banks who have signed non-prosecution agreements with the U.S. government

*What are Non-prosecution Agreements?

*What should a taxpayer who holds an unreported account at a bank that has signed onto FATCA do in the wake of receiving a declaration of consent from his or her bank?

*FATCA on the defense? Rand Paul launches attack on FATCA by filing law suit in federal district court alleging constitutional violations