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On February 8, 2011, the Internal Revenue Service announced a new voluntary disclosure initiative designed to bring noncompliant US taxpayers with unreported offshore income and assets back into the fold. The 2011 Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Initiative (OVDI) follows on the heels of the 2009 Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program (OVDP), which ran from March 23, 2009, to October 15, 2009, and brought in 15,000 voluntary disclosures. Since that time, more than 3,000 taxpayers have come forward with undisclosed bank accounts. These taxpayers will also be eligible to take advantage of the 2011 OVDI.
Not surprisingly, the 2011 OVDI penalty structure is higher than that of the 2009 OVDP. Individuals are required to pay a penalty of 25 percent of the amount in the foreign bank accounts in the year with the highest aggregate account balance over the past eight years, plus back taxes and interest for the past eight years and accuracy-related and/or delinquency penalties. (The 2009 OVDP required six years of back taxes and a 20 percent penalty of the highest account balance in the foreign bank account.) In return, the IRS will forgo criminal prosecution and will not assert other civil penalties, including the FBAR penalty (which alone could exceed the value of the account).
As under the 2009 OVDP, some taxpayers may be eligible for a reduced 5 percent penalty for inherited accounts that they have never accessed. In addition, the 2011 OVDI creates a new penalty category of 12.5 percent for offshore accounts or assets that did not surpass $75,000 in any calendar year.
Taxpayers who wish to participate must file all original and amended tax returns and pay all taxes, interest and accuracy-related penalties by August 31, 2011, in order to take advantage of the new initiative. The IRS cautions that this is a hard-and-fast deadline that will not be extended. It will be challenging for some taxpayers to obtain all information from offshore banks by this date, so they need to act promptly.
It is always preferable for taxpayers to come forward before the IRS finds them. Discovery by the IRS has become increasingly likely in view of expanded US information reporting obligations for offshore assets, cooperation among countries under tax information exchange treaties, the sale and exchange of stolen lists of clients of offshore banks, and aggressive IRS pursuit of hidden assets offshore.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this year's annual Day Pitney Palm Beach Family Office Forum, which had originally been scheduled for April 28 and 29, has been postponed to hopefully be rescheduled for later this year.
On October 15, Von Sanborn will co-chair three panels and Art Requenez will speak at Private Wealth Management LATAM, an executive education program presented by The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in partnership with its Family Business and Office School and held in Miami, FL.
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Day Pitney LLP hosted its annual invitation-only Palm Beach Family Office Forum at the Eau Palm Beach.
On February 20, Von Sanborn will be presenting on "Passionate Collecting, Thoughtful Ownership: Collecting, Owning and Selling Art" at a STEP Southwest Florida Chapter event.
Partner David M. Waizer was one of the advisors to Silmid Limited shareholders on the company's acquisition by GracoRoberts, a U.S. aerospace-focused specialty chemicals distribution giant.
Daniel Gottfried, chair of Day Pitney's International Transactions practice was quoted in an article, "Who Can You Trust in the Cryptocurrency Economy?," published by the Robb Report.
Von Sanborn was featured in an article, "Tax Screw-Ups and People Problems: Experts Reveal Biggest Blunders of Rich Families," published by Bloomberg.
Von Sanborn was quoted in an article, "U.S. Family Offices Face Increasing Competition from Foreign Families," published by Private Asset Management.
International tax partner Von Sanborn was quoted in an article, "Six Family Offices Themes Likely to Set the Agenda in 2019," published by Fund Intelligence.
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