Given the aggressive public overtures that Internal Revenue Service (IRS) officials have made regarding offshore bank accounts and tax evasion in the last five years, many taxpayers took advantage of the Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program offered by the Internal Revenue Service. However, a report issued by the GAO (Government Accounting Office) has found that many individuals have tried to avoid going into the program by amending their tax returns. The Washington Post reports that utilizing this technique “results in lost revenue for the Treasury and undermines the offshore programs’ fairness and effectiveness.”
While we disagree with the characterization that filing amended tax returns reporting the income and bank account outside of the program results in a loss of revenue for the IRS, the report does recommend that the IRS beef up its efforts to detect these ‘quiet disclosures.’
If you have questions about offshore tax compliance, or are in need of international tax representation, contact the experienced tax lawyers at Moskowitz LLP in San Francisco today.