Posts by Stephen J. Dunn
Supreme Court Grants Certiorari in Bittner
In United States v. Bittner, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held that the $10,000 penalty for non-willful violation of the FBAR filing requirement applies not for each FBAR which the taxpayer fails to file, but for each account reportable on an unfiled FBAR.[1] The Supreme Court has granted certiorari. Oral argument…
Read MoreMichigan Durable Powers Of Attorney
An elderly woman living alone suffers a stroke, and falls. Later, at a rehabilitation facility, the woman falls again, this time suffering a traumatic brain injury. She is mentally and physically incapacitated. Before all of this happens, while the woman is still mentally competent, she needs to have a patient advocate designation, concerning her health…
Read MoreExpatriation From The United States
Renunciation of United States citizenship or abandonment of United States lawful permanent resident (“green card”) status is a major event in an individual’s life. Nonresidents of the United States can shed their obligation to file U.S. tax returns and pay U.S. taxes under the Internal Revenue Code, and their obligation to file FinCEN Forms 114,…
Read MoreUnited States Income Taxation Of United Kingdom-Based Pension Plans
Many United Kingdom citizens retire in the United States after working in the United Kingdom. Such individuals’ interests in United Kingdom-based pension plans raise complex issues of United States income taxation and reporting. United Kingdom law allows defined benefit as well as defined contribution pension plans. United-Kingdom-based defined benefit plans are generally funded entirely by…
Read MoreForeign Accounts Compliance Update
Immigration to the United States continues at a strong pace. The people coming over tend to be members of the technical, educated class, from countries like India. We are also seeing many people retiring in the U.S. from countries like the United Kingdom. Most of these individuals have assets in their native country, and they…
Read MoreInternal Revenue Code § 965 and the Streamlined Procedures
Internal Revenue Code § 965, as added by the Tax Cut and Jobs Act of 2017, requires a controlled foreign corporation (“CFC”) to include in its Subpart F income its post-1986 accumulated but previously untaxed earnings as of November 2, 2017 or December 31, 2017. A CFC is a foreign corporation more than 50 percent…
Read MoreAdvantageous Abandonment of a U.S. Green Card
If you have the status of lawful permanent resident of the United States (i.e., you are a “green card” holder), and you reside in the United Kingdom, and you intend to abandon your green card, you should know that by planning may enable you to avoid substantial U.S. income tax upon expatriating. American citizens and…
Read MoreNew Law Expands U.S. Government’s Discovery of Americans’ Foreign Accounts
The United States taxes its citizens and residents (“U.S. persons”) on their worldwide income. U.S. persons commonly used foreign financial accounts to evade U.S. income tax. Unlike U.S. financial institutions, foreign financial institutions do not report to the U.S. Internal Revenue Service income paid or credited on accounts. Some U.S. persons interposed shell companies to…
Read MoreAmericans’ Interests in Foreign Accounts Reportable on Form 8938
The United States taxes its citizens and residents on their worldwide income. Accordingly, the U.S. Internal Revenue Code requires U.S. taxpayers whose interests in foreign financial accounts exceed certain thresholds to report those interests in foreign financial assets on Form 8938, Report of Specified Foreign Financial Assets, filed with their annual U.S. income tax return. …
Read MoreThe FBAR Filing Requirement
The United States taxes its citizens and residents on their worldwide income. To evade U.S. income tax, U.S. taxpayers were transferring their funds to foreign financial institutions, which are not required to report income generated by the funds to the U.S. Internal Revenue Servivce. Congress responded by enacting the Bank Secrecy Act and its FBAR…
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