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Seattle FBAR Lawyer | IRS FATCA International Tax Attorney

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I recently received a phone call from a person who was looking for a Seattle FBAR lawyer online and found my website. He asked me whether I can help him even though Sherayzen Law Office is based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. I responded to him: “yes, I can help you”.

This conversation brought to light an important topic of who should be considered a Seattle FBAR Lawyer and why an international tax lawyer based in Minneapolis can help a client in Seattle with FBAR issues.

Seattle FBAR Lawyer Definition: Legal FBAR Services Provided in Seattle, Washington

There are two categories of lawyers that fit the term Seattle FBAR Lawyer. The first category consists of US international tax lawyers who reside in Seattle and offer FBAR services to the residents of Seattle. The second category is comprised of US international tax lawyers who reside outside of Seattle but offer FBAR services to the residents of Seattle.

The first category is clear – if a lawyer resides in Seattle and offers FBAR services, he is considered to be a Seattle FBAR Lawyer. The question is: why is a lawyer who resides outside of Seattle still considered a Seattle FBAR lawyer? The answer lies in the legal nature of FBARs. FBAR is a federal information return, not a local requirement of Seattle or the State of Washington. This means that any licensed US international tax lawyer can offer FBAR services in any of the 50 states and the District of Columbia irrespective of his physical location. This is why a lawyer who resides in Minneapolis can offer FBAR legal services in Seattle with the same ease as a lawyer who resides in Seattle.

Seattle FBAR Lawyer Must Be US International Tax Lawyer

It should be emphasized that, while the residence of a Seattle FBAR Lawyer is not relevant, his area of practice is highly important. A Seattle FBAR lawyer must be an international tax lawyer – i.e. a lawyer who not only knows how to complete FBARS, but who has profound knowledge of US international tax law and the place the FBARs occupy in this law.

This emphasis is based on the fact that FBAR is only a small part of a much larger area of US international tax law. Indeed, there is a deep and complex relationship between the FBAR and international tax law that determines the legal position of a client and the potential voluntary disclosure strategies associated with delinquent FBARs.

This is why your Seattle FBAR lawyer should have deep knowledge of and extensive experience in both FBARs and all related US international tax laws and regulations.

Sherayzen Law Office Can Be Your Seattle FBAR Lawyer

Sherayzen Law Office is an international tax law firm that specializes in FBARs and international tax law. Our legal and accounting team has both: a profound knowledge of this area of law and extensive experience in helping clients with international tax law issues, including offshore voluntary compliance with respect to delinquent FBARs. We have helped hundreds of US taxpayers worldwide with their FBAR issues and we can help You!

Contact Sherayzen Law Office today to schedule Your Confidential Consultation!

Milwaukee FBAR Lawyer | IRS FATCA Tax Attorney

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Who is considered to be a Milwaukee FBAR Lawyer? This is a question that is important to all residents of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Let me try to answer this question.

Milwaukee FBAR Lawyer Definition: Legal FBAR Services Provided in Milwaukee, Wisconsin

The term Milwaukee FBAR Lawyer includes two broad categories of international tax lawyers. The first category consists of lawyers who reside in Milwaukee and offer FBAR services to the residents of Milwaukee. The second category is comprised of lawyers who reside outside of Milwaukee but offer FBAR services to the residents of Milwaukee.

The first category is self-explanatory, but the second category requires a bit more explanation of one issue: why is an FBAR lawyer who resides outside of Milwaukee still considered a Milwaukee FBAR lawyer? The answer is relatively simple – FBAR is a federal compliance requirement and any licensed US international tax lawyer can practice it in any of the 50 states and the District of Columbia irrespective of his physical location. Local Milwaukee law and even Wisconsin law have nothing to do with FBARs.

A Milwaukee FBAR Lawyer Must be an International Tax Lawyer

I mentioned above that both categories of the definition of a Milwaukee FBAR Lawyer must consist of only international tax lawyers. I wish to emphasize this point – not any lawyer should advise with respect to FBARs, only US international tax lawyers.

This emphasis on knowledge of the US international tax law is not incidental; it is based on the fact that FBAR is merely a part of a much bigger US international tax law. These concepts are so deeply interrelated that it would be nonsensical to advise a client on his legal position just on the FBARs without the related US international tax law issues or the US international tax law without the FBARs.

This is why your Milwaukee FBAR lawyer should have a profound knowledge of and experience in both FBARs and all related US international tax laws and regulations.

Sherayzen Law Office is a Premier International Firm Well-Positioned to be Your Milwaukee FBAR Lawyer

Sherayzen Law Office is the perfect candidate to be Your Milwaukee FBAR Lawyer. Not only does its team has a profound knowledge of FBARs and US international tax law, but its professional legal team is also highly experienced in dealing with these issues, including all Offshore Voluntary Compliance programs related to delinquent FBARs. We have helped hundreds of US taxpayers worldwide with their FBAR issues and we can help You!

Contact Sherayzen Law Office today to schedule Your Confidential Consultation!

Boulder FBAR Lawyer | Offshore Accounts Tax Attorney

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The definition of a Boulder FBAR Lawyer is much broader than many people believe. In this brief essay, I would like to explain who is considered to be a Boulder FBAR Lawyer and why you should retain the services of Sherayzen Law Office, Ltd. for professional help with your FBAR issues.

Boulder FBAR Lawyer Definition: Legal FBAR Services Provided in Boulder, Colorado

Obviously, the definition of a Boulder FBAR lawyer includes all FBAR lawyers who are physically located in Boulder, Colorado, and offer services there. However, this definition also includes every international tax lawyer who offers FBAR services in Boulder, Colorado,

This is the case because FBAR is a creation of federal law, not state law. This means that, irrespective of his physical location, an international tax lawyer can provide his FBAR services in Boulder as long as he is licensed to practice law in any of the 50 states or District of Columbia. What is really important is the competence and experience of an international tax lawyer, not his residence in Boulder.

Boulder FBAR Lawyer’s Knowledge of US International Tax Law is the Key Factor

Indeed, the competence of a lawyer should be the key factor in retaining the services of a Boulder FBAR lawyer. The level of competence of an FBAR lawyer depends on his knowledge of and the experience in US international tax law in general and FBARs specifically.

Why this emphasis not just on FBARs, but competence in US international tax law? First, FBAR forms just a part of a much bigger area of US international tax law. Second, in almost all cases, the FBAR issues are related to and often depend on other international tax compliance requirements (e.g. foreign income determination). In fact, the interaction between FBAR and other international tax issues is a major factor that determines a taxpayer’s legal position. This is why your Boulder FBAR lawyer should have a profound understanding of both FBARs and US international tax law in general.

Boulder FBAR Lawyer: Out-of-State Ability to Communicate is Not a Problem

Some readers may wonder why I emphasize the competence as a key factor in retainer of a Boulder FBAR lawyer and ignore the ease-of-communication considerations. It seems that some persons still cling to an obsolete belief that it would be more convenient to communicate with a local Boulder FBAR lawyer rather than an out-of-state one.

This is a flawed belief that I have been battling for a long time now. There are two reasons for why the communications factor no longer depends on the actual residence of your Boulder FBAR lawyer. First of all, the development of modern means of communications completely resolved the communications issues of the earlier centuries. Email, Video Skype Conferences, telephone and text messages make your out-of-state Boulder FBAR lawyer as equally accessible as your local Boulder FBAR lawyer.

Second, in reality, almost the entire course of communication between you and your local lawyer is going to be exactly the same as it would be between you and your out-of-state lawyer – i.e. email, telephone and even regular mail. Your local Boulder FBAR lawyer simply would not have the time to meet with you every time he needs to communicate something to you. Moreover, given the large amount of issues that often arise with respect to FBARs, personal meetings on every issue would simply make the case too expensive and inconvenient.

There is one additional point that is worth making here. While the geography of your Boulder FBAR lawyer does not matter, it is important that the lawyer is accessible to you and you can communicate with him on the progress of the case. However, this is a retainer factor that is highly personal to each lawyer.

In my case, my clients have no problems communicating with me; most of the time I will be able to respond before the end of the day and, often, immediately.

Sherayzen Law Office is Your Preferred Choice for Your Boulder FBAR Lawyer

Sherayzen Law Office is a highly experienced international tax law firm with profound knowledge of FBARs. We have been helping our clients worldwide with their FBAR issues for a very long time; in fact, we are one of the few firms which advised clients with respect to all major IRS voluntary disclosure programs, including 2009 OVDP, 2011 OVDI, 2012 OVDP, 2014 OVDP and Streamlined Procedures (Domestic and Foreign). We can help you!

This is why, if you are looking for a Boulder FBAR lawyer, you should contact Sherayzen Law Office, Ltd. today to schedule Your Confidential Consultation!

Sarshar Guilty Plea & Undisclosed Israeli Bank Accounts | FBAR Lawyer

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On August 1, 2016, the IRS scored another victory in a case involving Israeli Bank Accounts; the IRS and the DOJ announced that Mr. Masud Sarshar, a California businessman, was charged with one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and one count of corruptly endeavoring to impair and impede the due administration of the internal revenue laws. Mr. Sarshar already signed a plea agreement agreeing to plead guilty and pay more than $8.3 million in restitution to the IRS. If the court accepts the parties’ agreement, Mr. Sarshar will be sentenced to 24 months in prison. Additionally, Mr. Sarshar agreed to pay a civil FBAR penalty in the amount of 50 percent of the high balance of his undeclared accounts for failure to disclose his Israeli bank accounts.

Facts of the Sarshar Case

Mr. Sarshar owned and operated Apparel Limited Inc., a clothing design business. Under his plea, he admitted that, between 2006 and 2009, he used unreported bank accounts at Bank Leumi and two other Israeli banks to hide $21 million of business revenue from the IRS. The accounts were owned by him personally and in the name of entities that he created with assistance of at least two relationship managers at the Israeli banks.

Between 2007 and 2012, Mr. Sarshar also earned more than $2.5 million in interest income from these accounts; none of this income was reported on his individual and corporate tax returns. No FBARs were ever filed.

In order to use the funds on his accounts, Mr. Sarshar utilized a creative stratagem where Bank Leumi would loan funds to Mr. Sarshar through its U.S. branch while the funds in Israel were used as a collateral. Mr. Sarshar was able to bring back to the United States approximately $19 million of his offshore assets without creating a paper trail or otherwise disclosing the existence of the offshore accounts to U.S. authorities.

What is particularly surprising about this case is the creativity of the Israeli bankers in getting the information to Mr. Sarshar. At Mr. Sarshar’s request, none of the banks sent him account statements by mail; rather, they provided them to him in person in Los Angeles. In order to conceal the statements, a Bank Leumi banker would upload the account statements on a USB drive which she concealed in necklace worn during her U.S. trips. Sometimes, the meetings with bankers occurred in Mr. Sarshar’s car. Moreover, the Israeli bankers also advised Mr. Sarshar to obtain Israeli and Iranian passports to prevent him from being flagged as a U.S. citizen by the compliance departments at both banks.

Lessons of the Sarshar Case

Several lessons and conclusions can be drawn from this case. The first conclusion is that the IRS continues to focus on Israeli banks in its tax enforcement efforts. The focus on Israel is something that Sherayzen Law Office has repeatedly stated in the past. Again, we want to repeat our prediction that we will see more cases involving Israel and other countries outside of Switzerland. This means that, if you have undeclared bank accounts in Israel, you are at an increased risk of detection and prosecution by the IRS. This lesson can be expanded into a general statement that you run a high risk of getting caught by the IRS if you have undisclosed foreign accounts in any country that has implemented FATCA.

The second lesson that can be drawn from the Sarshar case is that he should have entered into a voluntary disclosure program while he had a chance to do it. It is very important to understand that, in a willful situation, using the IRS offshore voluntary disclosure program is indispensable to prevent the imposition of higher penalties and a criminal prosecution.

The third lesson is that Sarshar case reaffirms the most common fact pattern that leads to IRS criminal prosecution – willful divergence of U.S. earnings to overseas accounts to avoid taxation, the usage of entities to hide the ownership of foreign accounts and persistence in violation of U.S. laws. Even one of these factors might have been sufficient for the IRS to commence a criminal investigation; in this case, all three were present.

Contact Sherayzen Law Office if You Have Undisclosed Foreign Accounts in Israel or Any Other Country

If you have undisclosed foreign accounts in Israel or any other country, contact Sherayzen Law Office for legal help. Our experienced team of international tax professionals, headed by our founder and international tax attorney Eugene Sherayzen, can help you resolve all of your tax problems in the United States.

Contact Us Today to Schedule Your Confidential Consultation!

FBAR PFIC Reporting | FBAR Tax Attorney

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FBAR PFIC Reporting is an important issue for U.S. shareholders of passive foreign investment companies (“PFICs”). I will now briefly explore the FBAR PFIC Reporting requirement and when it applies to U.S. shareholders of a PFIC.

FBAR PFIC Reporting: FBAR Background

FinCEN Form 114, the Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts, commonly known as FBAR, originally came into existence as a result of the 1970 Bank Secrecy Act. FBAR is one of the main and arguably the most important international tax requirement in the IRS. The form must be filed by every U.S. tax resident who has foreign financial accounts the aggregate value of which exceeds $10,000 at any time during the calendar year. The aggregate value should be calculated based on all foreign bank and financial accounts in which this U.S. tax resident has financial interest or over which he has signatory or other authority.

Failure to file an FBAR may result in the imposition of draconian FBAR penalties, including criminal penalties in grave cases of willful noncompliance.

FBAR PFIC Reporting: PFIC Definition

PFIC (Passive Foreign Investment Company) is one of the most complex tax requirements of the U.S. tax system. In addition to the potentially tremendously burdensome tax compliance required for PFICs, PFICs may result in the imposition of a much higher income tax with PFIC interest on the PFIC tax.

The basic definition of a PFIC is any foreign corporation in which: “(1) 75 percent or more of the gross income of such corporation for the taxable year is passive income, or (2) the average percentage of assets (as determined in accordance with subsection (e)) held by such corporation during the taxable year which produce passive income or which are held for the production of passive income is at least 50 percent.” IRC Section 1297(a). While many types of companies may unexpectedly be classified as PFICs by the IRS, foreign mutual funds seem to be the most common trap for the unwary U.S. taxpayers.

If a U.S. taxpayer has PFICs, he/she is required to file a separate Form 8621 “Information Return by a Shareholder of a Passive Foreign Investment Company or Qualified Electing Fund” for each PFIC.

FBAR PFIC Reporting: Three Potential FBAR Requirements

There are three most common situations when an FBAR should be filed for a PFIC, assuming the statutory aggregate threshold of $10,000 is satisfied. First, FBAR PFIC reporting is required if a PFIC is held in a financial account; in this case, FBAR PFIC reporting will occur for the account itself (which, in India especially, may correspond to the folio number of a PFIC in any case). For example, if a U.S. person has an Assurance Vie account in France that contains PFICs, he would have to report the Assurance Vie account on the FBAR, including the value of the PFICs.

Second, FBAR PFIC reporting is required if a PFIC shareholder has signature authority over foreign financial accounts owned by a PFIC. In this case, FBAR PFIC reporting will occur for these foreign financial accounts in Section IV of the FBAR.

Finally, the third most common situation where FBAR PFIC reporting is required is a scenario where a U.S. person owns more than 50% of a PFIC and this PFIC has foreign financial accounts. In such case, the U.S. person is assumed to have a financial interest in the foreign financial accounts of this PFIC and he needs to disclose these accounts on his FBAR.

FBAR PFIC Reporting: Filing Form 8621 does NOT Satisfy the FBAR Filing Requirement

It is important to emphasize that filing form 8621 for a PFIC does not relieve the filer from his FBAR obligations. Even if Form 8621 is filed, the filer must also file the FBAR.

Contact Sherayzen Law Office for Professional Help with FBAR PFIC Reporting

FBAR PFIC reporting can be extremely complex and it is very easy to make mistakes with respect to what needs to be disclosed and how. These mistakes, however, can be expensive to remedy and may result in imposition of various large penalties.

This is why, if you have PFICs that require FBAR and Form 8621 disclosure, you need to contact Sherayzen Law Office for professional help. Our team of experienced tax professionals will help you properly disclose your PFICs on your FBAR and report your PFIC income on your personal or business tax returns. If you have not complied with your FBAR PFIC reporting requirement in the past and wish to remedy this situation, Sherayzen Law Office will also help you with the voluntary disclosure of your FBARs and PFICs, including the preparation of all necessary tax forms and legal documents.

Contact Us Today to Schedule Your Confidential Consultation!