Tax

Fresh from DC court triumph, tax lawyer Silver unveils plans for road trip

Weeks after a U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C. ruled in his favor by denying a U.S. government effort to prevent him from legally challenging a key component of President Trump's December 2017 tax reform legislation, Tel Aviv-headquartered U.S. tax attorney Monte Silver has unveiled plans to undertake a global road trip,…

January 16, 2020
Tax
By staff writer

Acting National Taxpayer Advocate calls for IRS 'culture shift' as annual report released

In her 2019 Annual Report to Congress, acting National Taxpayer Advocate Bridget Roberts said the U.S. IRS needed to significantly raise its game with respect to the way it carries out its role as the nation's tax collecting agency. But to "truly transform the organization" – which, she noted in…

January 10, 2020
Tax
By Helen Burggraf

U.S. Expat Tax Conference set for later this month in Toronto

Independent tax professionals from across Canada and elsewhere will come together later this month in Toronto, at a two-day, CPD-accredited “U.S. Expat Tax Conference”.

January 8, 2020
Tax
By staff writer

SECURE Act: American expats, experts struggle to grasp impact of latest end-of-year Trump bill

In the final days of 2017, President Trump signed into law a major overhaul of the U.S. tax code, the so-called Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, that contained major, life-changing elements for many American expat small business owners in particular.

January 1, 2020
Tax
By Helen Burggraf

Judge's decision 'clobbered Treasury/IRS' Monte Silver tells Steve Mnuchin, other Treasury officials

Two days after a U.S. District Court judge in Washington, D.C. ruled that he could go ahead with a legal challenge of a key component of President Trump's December 2017 tax reform legislation, Tel Aviv-headquartered U.S. tax attorney Monte Silver told U.S. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and other Treasury officials in an…

December 28, 2019
Tax
By Helen Burggraf

U.S. District Court denies IRS effort to get it to dismiss legal Transition Tax challenge – on Xmas Eve

A U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C. said on Tuesday that it "reject[ed]" claims by the Internal Revenue Service that Tel Aviv-headquartered U.S. tax attorney Monte Silver and his fellow plaintiffs "lacked standing" to challenge a key component of President Trump's December 2017 tax reform legislation, as it applies to controlled…

December 24, 2019
Tax
By Helen Burggraf

Potentially significant error in 2018 IRS tax guide for 'certain married taxpayers filing separately' in Expatland

An IRS tax guide published in January of this year and intended for "U.S. citizens and resident aliens who work abroad or who have income earned in foreign countries" contained a major error that has only now come to light, and which "may have caused certain married taxpayers filing separately…

December 16, 2019
Tax
By Helen Burggraf

ACA podcast No. 2: Gov't Accountability Office FATCA report, and targeting of 'tax avoidance enablers'

"Material omissions" from a major U.S. Government Accountability Office report on FATCA earlier this year, along with warnings about an apparently growing trend by tax authorities to target tax advisers as well as their clients when prosecuting alleged tax evasion cases, are among the topics addressed in the American Citizens Abroad's…

December 12, 2019
Tax
By Helen Burggraf

U.S. Treasury, IRS issues final regs on Base Erosion and Anti-Abuse Tax, Foreign Tax Credits

The Internal Revenue Service and the Treasury Department published their final regulations covering two major international tax provisions, the Base Erosion and Anti-abuse Tax (BEAT) and Foreign Tax Credit, both of which had been addressed in President Trump's Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

December 6, 2019
Tax
By staff writer

IRS Assoc Chief Counsel's office reported investigating alleged erroneous Form 3520-A penalties

A months-long campaign aimed at calling attention to allegedly erroneous and disproportionate penalty notices that the U.S. Internal Revenue Service had been issuing, spearheaded by a Minnesota-based certified public accountant who bravely came forward to detail how five of his overseas clients had been hit with such notices, appears to have…

December 5, 2019
Tax
By Helen Burggraf

Richardson, to Canadian radio talk show hostess Danielle Smith: U.S. FATCA info requirements ‘incredibly intrusive’

In an appearance on a well-known Canadian radio talk show on Friday, Toronto lawyer John Richardson explained how U.S. regulations that require Canadian (and other non-U.S.) banks and financial institutions to report to the Internal Revenue Service on their American account holders work, and described them as "incredibly intrusive".

November 18, 2019
Tax
By staff writer

More...

Canada sent 900,000 financial records to IRS for 2018 tax year: CBC News

Canada's Revenue Agency sent some 900,000 financial records to the U.S. tax authorities for the 2018 tax year, in connection with the country's agreement to enforce America's FATCA reporting requirements, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation has reported.

November 12, 2019
Tax
By staff writer

Andersen analysis: IRS virtual currency guidance clarifies tax treatment of 'hard forks' and 'airdrops'

Will a 'hard fork' result in gross income, and a reporting obligation for the U.S. taxpayer owner of the virtual currency subject to that 'fork'? As reported, the U.S. Internal Revenue Service recently released some long-anticipated guidance on this and other questions, addressing how those subject to U.S. taxation should report their…

October 30, 2019
Tax
By Joe Gill

IRS to non-U.S. banks: 'You don't need to close accounts of Americans whose TINs you don't have after all'

Under pressure from European banks in particular, the U.S. Internal Revenue Service has issued clarification with respect to a FATCA requirement that "foreign financial institutions" be obliged to provide the so-called Taxpayer Identification Numbers of their American clients from January, 2020 onward, which tax experts say means that banks now…

October 25, 2019
Tax
By Helen Burggraf

Uncle Sam finally issues guidance on cryptocurrency reporting

The U.S. Internal Revenue Service has issued long-anticipated guidance on how Americans should report their cryptocurrency assets and transactions, and included details of a new "checkbox" that taxpayers must consider when filling out their 1040s.

October 16, 2019
Tax
By staff writer

Tax