As a parent, I have, on more than one occassion, painted myself in a cornor by giving one of my kids just one more chance. Inevitably they have called my bluff. So then its decision time, offer one last chance (my wife calls this picking your battles) or pull the trigger on some draconian punishment, such as “20 minutes in your room” or “no DS”, etc, etc. Well, it is comforting to know that the IRS does this too. Especially to taxpayers with offshore assets.
In early 2011 the IRS Commissioner announced the Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Initiative (OVDI), saying:
“As we continue to amass more information and pursue more people internationally, the risk to individuals hiding assets offshore is increasing. This new effort gives those hiding money in foreign accounts a tough, fair way to resolve their tax problems once and for all. And it gives people a chance to come in before we find them.” (emphasis added)
It is VERY INTERESTING to note that this is the THIRD program of its type. How many times can you dangle to the carrot and offer some level of amnesty? Well, as the previous programs brought in over 4 BILLION dollars in revenue with very little taxpayer cost, I guess you don’t fix what ain’t broke!
Archives for January 2012
IRS INCREASES AUDITS!!
In the “Data Book” covering the 2010 fiscal year—October 1, 2009, through September 30, 2010—the IRS showed that tax audits of individuals increased to approximately 1.1%, 0.1% higher than the rate for the prior year. Of those audits, 21.7% were conducted by revenue agents, tax compliance officers, tax examiners and revenue officer examiners, down from 22.9% in the prior year. The vast majority of the audits—78.3%—were correspondence audits, up from 77.1% in the previous year.
Moral of the story: It is important to stay on your toes. Comply with all the tax law requirements to secure the tax benefits you are legitimately entitled to receive