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Houston FBAR Lawyer | OVDP FATCA Tax Attorney

The main thesis of this essay is that the designation of a Houston FBAR Lawyer should be applied based on the geography of services of an FBAR lawyer rather the physical location of a lawyer.

Houston FBAR Lawyer Definition: Legal FBAR Services Provided in Houston, Texas

The old designation where a Houston FBAR Lawyer designation was limited only to lawyers who reside in Houston was incorrect from the very beginning for two reasons.

First, it was based basically on the premise that an out-of-state lawyer cannot effectively provide any legal services to a client who resides in Houston, Texas. Perhaps, to a certain degree, this premise could have been applicable to the time when there were no telephones, emails or other forms of modern communication. However, since the appearance of telephone and Internet-based communications, a modern lawyer can provide services efficiently and effectively at almost any point around the globe as long as he is licensed to do so. Even the face-to-face meetings can now be replaced with video conferences over the Internet (for example, video Skype conferences).

Second, some credence should be given to this old designation in situation where the subject matter is based on local Texas law or required appearance in a Texas court. In these situations, a local attorney indeed appears to have an advantage over an out-of-state attorney (although, even this advantage may be nullified if this is a one-time court appearance or the out-of-state attorney is actually licensed to practice in the State of Texas).

However, a Houston FBAR lawyer deals strictly with just federal subject-matter, because FBAR is a federal law and any US international tax lawyer can practice it irrespective of his physical location as long as this attorney is licensed to practice law in any of the 50 states or District of Columbia. This means that, as long as an international tax lawyer offers his legal FBAR services in Houston, he should be considered a Houston FBAR lawyer even if he resides in Minneapolis.

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

While the physical location of a lawyer is not important in determining whether he is a Houston FBAR lawyer, it is necessary that this lawyer be an international tax lawyer experienced in FBAR issues.

This emphasis on competence in US international tax law is based on the fact that FBAR is just a part of a much bigger area of US international tax law. In fact, the FBAR and international tax law are so completely interrelated this interaction between FBAR and other international tax issues is crucial to determining a taxpayer’s legal position. This is why your Houston FBAR lawyer should have a profound understanding of both FBARs and all other relevant US international tax compliance requirements.

Sherayzen Law Office Should Be Your Houston FBAR Lawyer

Sherayzen Law Office is a highly experienced international tax law firm with profound knowledge of FBARs and all other relevant US international tax compliance requirements. Our team consists of highly-experienced international tax professionals headed by the founder of the firm, attorney Eugene Sherayzen. We have helped hundreds of US taxpayers worldwide with their FBAR issues and we can help you!

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

IRS Increases Criminal Prosecutions for Willful Failure to File FBARs: U.S. v. Jacques Wajsfelner

In U.S. v. Jacques Wajsfelner, the IRS’s criminal prosecution of the defendant for willful failure to file FBARs was completed when the defendant, Mr. Jacques Wajsfelner, decided to plead guilty. Mr. Wajsfelner pled guilty to willful failure to file the FBAR in Manhattan federal court and he now faces civil penalties of $2.84 million and restitution of $419,940. Under advisory guidelines, he faces 30 months to 37 months in prison at sentencing scheduled for December 20, 2012.

Basic Facts

Mr. Wajsfelner, an 83-year old Holocaust survivor, fled the Nazis as a teenager and became a U.S. citizen, working in real estate and advertisement in New York and Boston. He admitted that he held an account in his own name at Credit Suisse in 1995. In 2006, his advisor helped him open an account in the name of Ample Lion Ltd. At the end of 2007, the account held almost $5.7 million. In 2008, as Credit Suisse started to wind down its U.S. cross-border banking business, Mr. Wajsfelner opened an account with Wegelin and transferred the money from Credit Suisse to the new account. In the later years, the value on this account went down to only $4 million.

In addition to moving money among two accounts, Mr. Wajsfelner also made a huge error of not telling the truth to the IRS about the account, Ample Lion Ltd. (A Hong Kong corporation), and his advisor (Beda Singenberger’s corporation Sinco Treuhand AG) during an interview conducted by the IRS after the investigation commenced. As part of his plea agreement, the IRS agreed not to prosecute him for these statements.

In the end, Mr. Wajsfelner plead guilty to knowing and willful failure to file the FBARs from 2006 through 2011 with the IRS.

Additional Considerations

It is possible that the misleading and untruthful statements to the IRS alone may have been the cause for Mr. Wajsfelner to plead guilty. However, there was another highly unfavorable fact – moving the money between the accounts would have been considered as circumstantial evidence of conspiracy to conceal the money from U.S. government. Also, Mr. Wajsfelner maintained very close contact with the account and directed various transactions to and from the accounts.

Another important consideration is to understand that this is a case of pure willful failure to file the FBARs; there was no associated pleading with respect to tax evasion. This is a very important because it shows that the IRS is willing to prosecute FBAR cases criminally even without tax evasion charges.

US v. Jacques Wajsfelner is Part of a Wave of Prosecutions

U.S. v. Jacques Wajsfelner is not an isolated case or limited only to specific facts of Mr. Wajsfelner.

In addition to Mr. Wajsfelner, the IRS also indicted his former Swiss adviser, Beda Singenberger, on a charge of conspiring to help more than 60 U.S. taxpayers hide $184 million from the Internal Revenue Service in offshore accounts. Wegelin, the 270-year-old Swiss bank, was also indicted February 2, 2012, on charges of helping U.S. taxpayers hide money from the IRS. Also, Credit Suisse said in July of 2011 that it was a target of a U.S. criminal probe. On July 21, 2011, seven of Credit Suisse’s bankers were indicted on charges of helping U.S. clients evade taxes through secret accounts.

In fact, since 2009, U.S. prosecutors have criminally charged about fifty U.S. taxpayers and more than twenty offshore bankers, lawyers and advisers.

FBAR Criminal Prosecutions Will Increase Due to Voluntary Disclosure Programs

It is critically important for non-compliant U.S. taxpayers to understand that, instead of subsiding, this wave of IRS criminal prosecutions regarding the FBARs will only increase.

The primary reason for this growth of FBAR prosecutions are the voluntary disclosure programs, like 2009 OVDP, 2011 OVDI AND 2012 OVDP. For many years now, the IRS has been collecting detailed information from the participating taxpayers regarding their advisors, banks and other U.S. taxpayers. This mountain of information allows the IRS to identify high-risk banks, advisors as well as specific taxpayers who are likely to be non-compliant with U.S. tax rules. The end-product of this analysis are targeted investigation and, ultimately, criminal prosecutions of non-compliant U.S. taxpayers and their advisors.

Contact Sherayzen Law Office for Legal Help With FBARs

If you have undisclosed foreign financial accounts that should have been reported to the IRS, contact Sherayzen Law Office as soon as possible. Our experienced tax firm will analyze the facts of your case, identify you potential FBAR liability and propose a specific course of action to deal with your specific situation. Sherayzen Law Office will guide you though your entire voluntary disclosure, including the preparation of all of the necessary tax documents and rigorous IRS representation.