Law.com Subscribers SAVE 30%

Call 855-808-4530 or email [email protected] to receive your discount on a new subscription.

A Glimmer of Hope for Lower Criminal and Civil FBAR Penalties

By Sharon L. McCarthy

The year 2010 will go down in history as the year the great wall of Swiss bank secrecy officially collapsed. On June 17, 2010, the Swiss Parliament ratified the settlement agreement between the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and UBS AG, and the process of turning over the names and Swiss banking information of approximately 4,450 U.S. taxpayers began. For taxpayers who missed the opportunity to participate in the Internal Revenue Service's special Off-shore Voluntary Disclosure Program (OVDP), which ended in October 2009, the chance of criminal prosecution is high.

This article addresses the potential penalties facing taxpayers with undisclosed foreign accounts and focuses in particular on the draconian penalties being issued across the board for failure to file Form TDF 90-22.1, Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts ' commonly referred to as an “FBAR.” And we also discuss a recent decision out of the Eastern District of Virginia, which provides some small hope that the government will begin to exhibit a bit of flexibility in its approach to FBAR penalties.

This premium content is locked for Entertainment Law & Finance subscribers only

  • Stay current on the latest information, rulings, regulations, and trends
  • Includes practical, must-have information on copyrights, royalties, AI, and more
  • Tap into expert guidance from top entertainment lawyers and experts

For enterprise-wide or corporate acess, please contact Customer Service at [email protected] or 877-256-2473

Read These Next
Bankruptcy Sales: Finding a Diamond In the Rough Image

There is no efficient market for the sale of bankruptcy assets. Inefficient markets yield a transactional drag, potentially dampening the ability of debtors and trustees to maximize value for creditors. This article identifies ways in which investors may more easily discover bankruptcy asset sales.

Judge Rules Shaquille O'Neal Will Face Securities Lawsuit for Promotion, Sale of NFTs Image

A federal district court in Miami, FL, has ruled that former National Basketball Association star Shaquille O'Neal will have to face a lawsuit over his promotion of unregistered securities in the form of cryptocurrency tokens and that he was a "seller" of these unregistered securities.

Why So Many Great Lawyers Stink at Business Development and What Law Firms Are Doing About It Image

Why is it that those who are best skilled at advocating for others are ill-equipped at advocating for their own skills and what to do about it?

Blockchain Domains: New Developments for Brand Owners Image

Blockchain domain names offer decentralized alternatives to traditional DNS-based domain names, promising enhanced security, privacy and censorship resistance. However, these benefits come with significant challenges, particularly for brand owners seeking to protect their trademarks in these new digital spaces.

Coverage Issues Stemming from Dry Cleaner Contamination Suits Image

In recent years, there has been a growing number of dry cleaners claiming to be "organic," "green," or "eco-friendly." While that may be true with respect to some, many dry cleaners continue to use a cleaning method involving the use of a solvent called perchloroethylene, commonly known as perc. And, there seems to be an increasing number of lawsuits stemming from environmental problems associated with historic dry cleaning operations utilizing this chemical.