The streamlined domestic and foreign offshore programs allows US persons living inside, as well as outside, the US to avoid criminal charges and the excessive FBAR penalties. But, only if you can prove that you were non-willful. The penalty is only 5% of the highest foreign bank account balance, and foreign financial asset, in the last six years.

 

 

How This Tax Law Firm Will Represent Your Interests Through The IRS Streamline Offshore Program

 

 

This tax law firm will prove, with substantive evidence, that your conduct was non-willful. We will collect the documents, and evidence, as well as testimony from witnesses to prove that your failure to file and FBAR, or the unreported foreign income, is a result of near-negligence, inadvertence, or mistake. Or, that you had a good faith misunderstanding of the law. We'll write a detailed explanation of the facts, written in a light most favorable to you, and certify that your actions were non-willful.

The streamlined domestic procedures do not apply to delinquent income tax returns, or if you're currently being audited or under criminal investigation.

 

Click here to read the video transcript:

Since the IRS commenced the Streamlined Program in July of 2014, over 100,000 people have voluntarily reported undisclosed foreign income and assets, filed tax returns, and information returns all under the Streamlined Domestic and Streamlined Foreign Offshore Programs. In the beginning, only tax attorneys made streamlined submissions because the failure to file FBARs and under reporting is potentially a criminal tax matter. However, once they became popular CPAs, enrolled agents, and even tax preparers began submitting them even though their disclosures were not protected by the attorney client privilege, nor the attorney work product privileges.

Many of the streamlined packages prepared by the least experienced professionals include hastily prepared narrative certification of the facts, insufficient disclosures, and inadequate information returns and tax returns. These are the streamlined submissions that are now being audited by the IRS. The IRS is interviewing the CPAs, enrolled agents, and tax preparers directly and asking these individuals questions about what was said during the tax payers conversations with them. The IRS is trying to prove the tax payers actual knowledge about following requirements is not what was reported on the narrative certification of the facts that was prepared by the CPA, enrolled agent, or tax preparer. This creates an enormous conflict of interest.

These professionals are put in a position to either lie, risking their own license and perjury charges, or selling their clients down the river. During the audit, the IRS also is interviewing the tax payers directly and questioning them about what their CPAs, enrolled agents, and tax preparers told them to write down rather than the actual facts. The interviews of the CPAs, enrolled agents, and tax preparers, as well as the IRS interviews directly with the tax payer does not occur with tax attorneys, as we will advocate all of your rights including attorney client privileged, attorney work product privileged, and the fifth amendment privilege against self incrimination.

In the event you have a tax attorney represent you in the streamlined audit, we will take a more aggressive stance with the IRS in defending your rights, advocating your positions, advancing privileges and defenses, and we will use your CPA, enrolled agent, or tax preparer as an advantageous witness, limiting their testimony to only matters in your best interest. They will testify to only matters that they have personal knowledge of. This changes them from an advocate to a beneficial witness.

This tax law firm has submitted voluntary disclosures beginning the early 2000s through VDP, OVDI, OVDP, and the streamlined submissions long before most other tax attorneys, CPAs, enrolled agents, and tax preparers ever heard of the program. We have more experience with the program and audits than anyone else I know of. We have an excellent reputation as aggressive tax attorneys at representing our clients, defending their interest, and we will get the best result possible. Please call me at 858-481-4844 for a confidential call that's protected by the attorney client privilege.

 

We will amend your last three years' income tax returns, and file the last six years FBARs, compute the 5% penalty based on only the unreported foreign financial assets. We will assure that there will be no double accounting for funds transferred between foreign bank accounts. And, ensure the proceeds from the sale of real property, deposited in your foreign bank account, are not double accounted for.

We will competently prepare the 114 FBAR, the foreign 8938, which reports foreign financial assets, 3520 trust and gift forms, 5471 corporate forms, as well as 926 and 8621 forms. We will be well-prepared to prove that the failure to comply with the technical aspects, but filing every particular form, and reporting every foreign financial asset was not willful.

Tax Law Representation For Taxpayers Outside The United States

For taxpayers residing outside the United States, we will file your delinquent and amended income tax returns, six years of FBARs and prove that you comply with the non-residency requirement; which is living outside the United States for, at least, 330 days for one out of the last three years. We will research the foreign treatises to see if your income from your foreign retirement or savings plan is tax-deferred in the US, as well as in your own home country.

Are There Penalties Associated With The Streamline Foreign Procedure?

There is no penalty for the streamline foreign procedure. This tax law firm has been doing voluntary disclosures since the 1990's, before they were popular. We have competently represented hundreds of clients in traditional voluntary disclosures, the 2009 voluntary disclosure, which applied a 20% penalty, the 2011 offshore voluntary disclosure initiative, which is a 25% penalty for eight year, the 2012 offshore voluntary disclosure program, which is a 27.5% penalty, the 2014 OVDP, and now the streamlined domestic offshore program, and the streamlined foreign offshore program.

The IRS and DOJ is actively pursuing many taxpayers criminally for their failure to file FBARs, failure to report foreign income, and failure to file information returns. This is a potential criminal case that needs to be handled by a competent tax attorney with the benefits of attorney-client privilege. Not by a CPA enrolled agent or tax preparer, or other unlicensed individual. All information you provide to your CPA enrolled agent or tax preparer must be disclosed to the IRS, otherwise they'll lose their license to practice. They're not an attorney.

Our attorneys fees are reasonable. I have my clients collected organized documents, and prepare a memorandum of tax issues, all of which significantly reduce the attorneys fees. I keep the attorneys fees as low as reasonably possible, as I want long-term happy clients. We are some of the most competent and aggressive tax attorneys when it comes to assuring you pay the lowest tax penalties and interest allowed by law.

Please call me at 858-481-4844, and I'd be happy to talk about your tax case. The communication is protected by the attorney-client privilege, and will not be disclosed to the IRS under any circumstances.