D.C. Circuit Upholds Tax Court Decision That John Doe Summons Precluded Qualified Amended Return
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D.C. Circuit Upholds Tax Court Decision That John Doe Summons Precluded Qualified Amended Return

The Lamprecht case is a good reminder of how long and complex the path can be for international taxpayers to correct prior wrongs and come into compliance for federal income tax purposes. On April 23, 2024, in Lamprecht v Commissioner,  ___ F.4th ___ (D.C. Cir. 4/23/24), ( D.C. Circuit Court opinion) the U.S. Court of…

Form 5471
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DC Circuit: Tax Court was Wrong; IRS has the Authority To Assess Form 5471 Penalties

Summary On Friday, May 3, 2024, the U.S. Circuit Court for the D.C. Circuit overturned the Tax Court’s decision in Farhy v. Commissioner, ___ F.4th ___ (D.C. Cir. 5/3/24) (link to opinion) and held that the IRS has authority under § 6038(b) to assess Form 5471 penalties.   The Tax Court previously held that the…

Image of US Tax, Form 3520, Form 3520-A, Gavel Rendering Judgment
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Tax Court Rejects Excessive Fines Clause Argument and Upholds $11 Million Form 3520 and Form 3520-A Penalties

The Mukhi v Commissioner[1] case is another example of just how severe the penalties are for failing to report certain foreign financial activity timely; in this case, it was the failure to report foreign trusts, related trust activity, and ownership of a foreign corporation on Form 3520, Form 3520-A, and Form 5471 in a timely…

John Doe Summons Extended SOL & Prevented Amended Returns From Fending Off IRS Penalties
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John Doe Summons Extended SOL & Prevented Amended Returns From Fending Off IRS Penalties

In Lamprecht v Commissioner, TC Memo 2022-91 (link to case), a John Doe summons tolled the statute of limitations and allowed the IRS to assess a 20% accuracy related penalty more than 6 years after the Taxpayers’ original income tax returns were filed. The IRS was able to assess the penalty even though the Taxpayer…

Court Orders That Individual Must Repatriate $18+ million From Switzerland to Pay Willful FBAR Penalty Liability
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Court Orders That Individual Must Repatriate $18+ million From Switzerland to Pay Willful FBAR Penalty Liability

On Tuesday October 26, 2021, Judge Bloom for the District Court of the Northern District of Florida adopted a Magistrate’s recommendation to issue an order to compel repatriation of funds to satisfy a willful FBAR penalty and accrued interest of more than $18 million dollars.[1] The Magistrate’s Report and Recommendation was issued on June 30,…

Magistrate Recommends Order to Compel Repatriation of Funds to Pay FBAR Penalties

Magistrate Recommends Order to Compel Repatriation of Funds to Pay FBAR Penalties

Overview A recent federal magistrate’s recommendation highlights a practical battle between the U.S. Government and a Defendant that is seeking to avoid payment of a $15+ million FBAR penalty: what happens if all of the defendant’s assets are outside of the United States? In a federal suit to reduce the FBAR penalty to judgement, the…

Taxpayer Wins District Court Case on Calculation of Non-Willful FBAR Penalties

In U.S. v. Bittner [1](available here: link), the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas (the “Court”) handed taxpayers a victory by declining to follow the legal analysis in Boyd v U.S.   In doing so the Court rejected the IRS’s interpretation of what constitutes a “violation” for purposes of computing non-willful FBAR penalties…