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My name is John DeLancett. I am an attorney who has been practicing in Florida for over 35 years. My primary areas of practice are: tax disputes, both civil and criminal, business disputes and litigation and real estate litigation. I have been an advocate of more legal education in our public schools. Unfortunately, this has either been ignored, or, alternatively, subverted into anti-drug or other programs. The purpose of this blog will be to occasionally provide notices of changes in the law that I consider to be significant and, from time to time, to comment on same. It may also be an opportunity for other legal professionals to kick around new legal issues that they encounter in their practice. This is not intended, nor should it be relied upon by anyone, as legal advice.
Silent or Quiet Disclosure of Offshore Accounts The IRS has warned taxpayers that any "quiet" or "silent" voluntary disclosure of an offshore account, in an attempt to avoid either the first or second voluntary disclosure programs, would not be considered to be a valid voluntary disclosure, and might be subject to criminal treatment. Apparently, in an effort to show that it is serious, on May 19, 2011 the government filed it's first criminal prosecution of a taxpayer who made such a silent disclosure (a silent disclosure is parlance among tax practitioners for a taxpayer who simply files the return through normal filing procedures, as opposed to participating in these programs). The defendant was a Mr. Schiavo. The defendant, according to press reports, entered into a plea agreement and is scheduled to be sentenced on January 31, 2012 (see 2011 WTD 98-43, 2011 WTD 99-36).
Say it Ain't So: Another Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program The IRS has this month ( January 9, 2012) announced yet a third Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program. The information available for it is pretty thin at this point, but the information provided at a recent seminar indicates that: 1) It is indefinite; 2) It could change at any time; 3) It may later be limited to certain types of Taxpayers; 4) All documents are to be sent to Austin, TX where they are to be assembled before being sent to the Examiner; 5) The eight (8) year tax period will change as it goes on; 6) The opt out will still be available; 7) The IRS will address dual citizenship issues later with guidance and procedures. 8) The penalty rate on the FBARs is increased to 27.5%; although lower rates of 5% and 12.5% remain available for certain taxpayers.
New IRS Voluntary Employee Reclassification Program The IRS has announced (Announcement 2011-64) a Voluntary Employee Classification Settlement Program (VCSP). This allows qualifying taxpayers to voluntarily enter into an agreement with the IRS concerning workers who have been treated as independent contractors, who should have, in fact, been classified as employees. The IRS has conducted a national research project on this issue. On September 16, 2011, the Department of Labor and the IRS entered into an agreement to share information between them to further pursue this issue of misclassification of workers...
2011 Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Initiative 2011 Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Initiative The IRS has announced a special voluntary disclosure initiative similar to the one in 2010 to bring offshore money back into the U.S. See Below the IRS news release issued February 8. 2011. Some notable differences between this and the previous program are : (cont. after the bump)
Florida Institute on Federal Taxation Conference 2010 I recenly made a presentation t the Florida Institute of Certified Public Accountants on current paytoll tax developments and issues. A copy of the outline is posted below: |
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