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Disregarded Entity FBAR Obligations | FBAR Tax Lawyer & Attorney Houston

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As an FBAR tax lawyer & attorney, I can see that one of the most common tax compliance mistakes made by US taxpayers is ignoring their disregarded entity FBAR obligations. These taxpayers believe that, since disregarded entities are ignored for tax purposes, these entities do not need to file any FBARs. In this article, I will explain why this view is completely false and how US taxpayers should comply with their disregarded entity FBAR obligations.

Disregarded Entity FBAR Obligations: What Are Disregarded Business Entities?

Under US tax law, certain juridical persons are disregarded for tax purposes. In other words, an entity is not recognized for tax purposes as something separate from its owner; the owner and the entity are merged into one tax person for tax purposes.

A disregarded entity may have only one owner. If there is more than one owner, then the entity is treated as a partnership for US tax purposes (unless it elects to be treated as a corporation).

A disregarded entity does not file its own tax return. Rather its owner reports all of the entity’s income and expense items on the owner’s tax return.

It is important, however, that one does not confuse the tax and legal treatment of a disregarded entity. Despite being ignored for tax purposes, a disregarded entity continues to exist legally. In other words, for all legal purposes, it is a separate juridical person with its own legal rights and obligations.

The most typical example of a disregarded entity is a single-member limited liability company (“SMLLC”). Another prominent example is a grantor trust.

Disregarded Entity FBAR Obligations: Required FBAR Compliance

A US disregarded entity must file an FBAR if it has a financial interest in or signatory authority or any other authority over foreign bank and financial accounts the highest aggregate value of which exceeds $10,000 at any point during the relevant calendar year.

FBAR is not filed with a US tax return. Hence, disregarded entities must file FBARs even though they do not file US tax returns. Taxpayers need to make sure to obtain an EIN number for their disregarded entities.

It is important to emphasize that all FBARs of disregarded entities are filed under the names of these entities, not their owners or managers. In other words, if a grantor trust files an FBAR, the trustee will sign FBAR which is officially filed in the name of the grantor trust.

Also note that I stated that a “US disregarded entity” must file an FBAR. A foreign disregarded entity does not need to file an FBAR (though, its US owner will have to do it under the FBAR rules).

Disregarded Entity FBAR Obligations: FBAR is not a Tax Requirement

Why is it that a disregarded entity has to file FBARs if it is disregarded for tax purposes? The answer to this question requires us to look into the legislative origin of FBAR.

The key to understanding why a disregarded entity has to file FBARs is the fact that FBAR is not part of the Internal Revenue Code (“IRC”). In other words, FBAR is not a tax form. FBAR is a creation of the Bank Secrecy Act and belongs to Title 31 (IRC is Title 26) of the United States Code.

As I stated above, a disregarded entity is ignored only for tax purposes, but it continues to exist for legal purposes. Hence, for FBAR purposes, the entity is not disregarded but continues to exist as a separate juridical person with its own legal compliance duties, including FBAR obligations.

Disregarded Entity FBAR Obligations: Why IRS Enforces FBAR Compliance

There is one more issue we need to clarify: if FBAR is not part of the IRC, why is the IRS agency in charge of enforcing it? The answer to this question also lies in FBAR’s history (now, the readers can appreciate why I insist that an international tax attorney should know the legal history of different legal and tax requirements).

Prior to the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the IRS was not in charge of enforcing FBAR compliance. Instead, for many years prior to 2001, FinCEN (the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network) was in charge of FBAR.

Why? The answer is simple: the original purpose of FBAR was not to fight tax noncompliance; it was not created as a tax form. Rather, FBAR was a tool to fight financial crimes, such as money laundering and terrorist financing. This fell straight within the competence of FinCEN.

In 2001, however, the US Congress turned over the function of enforcing FBAR compliance to the IRS (technically, FinCEN delegated the enforcement of FBAR to the IRS). The IRS almost immediately shifted the focus of FBAR from financial crimes to international tax enforcement.

Disregarded Entity FBAR Obligations: Frequent FBAR Violations

FBAR compliance is miserably low among disregarded entities. The main reason for so many FBAR violations is the fact that most taxpayers are completely unaware of the legal analysis of FBAR which I have set forth above. As I stated above, they incorrectly believe that FBAR is a tax form and, since disregarded entities are ignored for tax purposes, these entities do not or did not file FBARs. Unfortunately, even these non-willful situations may lead to the imposition of substantial FBAR penalties.

Contact Sherayzen Law Office for Professional Help with Your Disregarded Entity FBAR Obligations

In order to avoid these FBAR penalties and ensure proper tax compliance, you should contact Sherayzen Law Office for professional help with your disregarded entity FBAR obligations. Sherayzen Law Office has filed FBARs for every type of a disregarded entity. If your entity has not filed FBARs in the past, but it was required to do so, Sherayzen Law Office can also help you determine the best offshore voluntary disclosure option for your entity and do all of the work necessary to bring you and your entities into full compliance with US tax laws. We can help You!

Contact Us Today to Schedule Your Confidential Consultation!

2018 FBAR Deadline in 2019 | FinCEN Form 114 International Tax Lawyer & Attorney

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The 2018 FBAR deadline is one of the most important deadlines for US taxpayers in the calendar year 2019. Since FBAR is not filed with the federal income tax return, many taxpayers may miss this deadline. This is why Sherayzen Law Office is publishing this notice to US taxpayers.

2018 FBAR Deadline: Background Information

FBAR is an acronym for FinCEN Form 114, the Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts. US Persons must file FBAR if they have a financial interest in or signatory or any other authority over foreign financial accounts if the highest aggregate value of these accounts is in excess of $10,000. FBARs are filed separately from federal tax returns.

2018 FBAR Deadline: Pre-2016 FBAR Deadline

For the years preceding 2016, the US government chose a very strange deadline for FBARs – June 30 of each year. For example, 2012 FBAR was due on June 30, 2013. No filing extensions were allowed.

There was another surprising rule for FBAR deadlines. Prior to the mandatory e-filing of FBARs, taxpayers had to mail their FBARs to the specialized center in Detroit, Michigan. Unlike the rest of the tax forms, FBARs did not follow the “mailbox rule”. In other words, the filing of an FBAR was recognized by the IRS not upon the mailing of this form, but upon its receipt. For example, if FBAR was mailed on June 30, but received on July 1, it was not timely filed.

Federal tax returns, on the other hand, do follow the mailbox rule. This means that the IRS will consider the mailing date, not the date of receipt, as the date of the filing of a tax return. I should point out that, in practice, the IRS often confuses the rule and incorrectly issues failure-to-file penalties based on the date of receipt. This is why it is important to have a proof of mailing for your federal tax return.

The last FBAR that followed the June 30 deadline was 2015 FBAR; its due date was June 30, 2016. Nevertheless, due to the six-year FBAR statute of limitations, it is important to remember this history for the purpose of offshore voluntary disclosures and IRS FBAR audits. It will continue to be relevant as late as June 30, 2022.

2018 FBAR Deadline: Changes to FBAR Deadline Starting 2016 FBAR

Of course, the strange FBAR filing rules greatly confused US taxpayers. First of all, it was difficult to learn about the existence of the form. Second, taxpayers found it very difficult to timely comply with its requirements due to its very strange filing rules.

The US Congress took action in 2015 to alleviate this problem. As it usually happens, it did so when it passed a law that, on its surface, had nothing to do with FBARs. The Surface Transportation and Veterans Health Care Choice Improvement Act of 2015 (the “Act”) changed the FBAR deadline starting with 2016 FBAR. Section 2006(b)(11) of the Act requires the FBARs to be filed by the due date of that year’s tax return (i.e. usually April 15), not June 30.

Furthermore, during the transition period (which continues to this date), the IRS granted to US taxpayers an automatic extension of the FBAR filing deadline to October 15. Taxpayers do not need to make any specific requests in order for an extension to be granted.

Thus, starting with the 2016 FBAR, the Act adjusted the FBAR due date to coincide with the federal income tax filing deadlines. This is the case even if federal law requires a different filing date. For example, in situations where the tax return due date falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, the IRS must delay the due date until the next business day; the FBAR deadline will follow suit and also shift to the next business day.

2018 FBAR Deadline

Based on the current law, the 2018 FBAR deadline will be April 15, 2019. In other words, your 2018 FBAR has to be e-filed by and including that date. Automatic extension to October 15, 2019, is available.

FBAR Noncompliance & Taxpayer’s Options | FBAR Lawyer & Attorney

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FBAR noncompliance is the worst nightmare for US taxpayers due to enormous FBAR penalties even for non-willful taxpayers. US Taxpayers who are not facing an IRS examination or a DOJ (US Department of Justice) lawsuit have three options with respect to their FBAR noncompliance: (1) do nothing with respect to correcting their prior FBAR noncompliance, close the accounts and hope that the IRS will never discover them; (2) do a quiet disclosure; and (3) come forward and voluntarily disclose their unfiled FBARs.

I already explored the highly-risky strategy of a quiet disclosure in another article. In this article, I will focus on option #1 – doing nothing about prior FBAR noncompliance. In the next article, I will discuss the option of Offshore Voluntary Disclosure as a way to deal with prior FBAR noncompliance.

This article does not constitute legal advice, but merely provides information for educational purposes.

Advantages of Doing Nothing With Respect to Prior FBAR Noncompliance

Doing nothing with respect to FBAR noncompliance is a position that some taxpayers prefer, because it requires no action, no immediate legal expenses and no immediate payment of IRS penalties.

In other words, if a taxpayer chooses to do nothing with respect to his late unfiled FBARs and his strategy is successful, he stands to gain in two aspects: (1) he spends no effort, time or money on correcting his past FBAR noncompliance; and (2) if (and this is big “if”) the IRS never finds out about his past FBAR noncompliance, he will not pay any penalties. This whole strategy is based on the hope that the IRS will not find out about their FBAR noncompliance.

Disadvantages of Doing Nothing With Respect to Prior FBAR Noncompliance Even If the Strategy Is Successful

From legal perspective, this strategy of doing nothing can be classified as very risky. If unsuccessful, a noncompliant taxpayer who chooses to do nothing stands to lose a lot more than he could ever gain if his strategy works.

Let’s analyze the disadvantages of doing nothing based on two scenarios: the strategy is successful and the strategy is unsuccessful.

Even if the strategy is ultimately successful and the IRS does not find out about FBAR noncompliance, there is still a heavy psychological price to pay for this success, because the taxpayer will not find out about the success of his strategy until the FBAR statute of limitations expires. In other words, for six long years, the taxpayer will not have any peace of mind and will constantly worry about his potential FBAR penalty exposure. If the taxpayer does not close his foreign accounts, the waiting period could be extended even further.

Moreover, if FBAR noncompliance is combined with income noncompliance and failure to file other US international information returns, the statute of limitations on the tax returns might be open for an indefinite period of time (especially if the IRS can assert a fraud claim against the noncompliant taxpayer).

I have personally seen the psychological effects of such pressure on some of my clients. It was simply destroying their lives. Eventually, they could not live like this and came to me to do an offshore voluntary disclosure to resolve their prior FBAR noncompliance.

Disadvantages of Doing Nothing With Respect to Prior FBAR Noncompliance Where the Strategy Fails

If the success of this strategy exhorts such a heavy price, its failure may potentially result in disastrous consequences. Let’s explore the main two reasons why the strategy of doing nothing is so disfavored among international tax lawyers.

First, as described above, the current international tax enforcement structure severely undermines the entire basis for the strategy – i.e. hope that the IRS will not find out about FBAR noncompliance is simply too risky in the contemporary world dominated by FATCA, CRS and a widely-spread web of bilateral and multilateral automatic information exchange treaties. It is still possible that the IRS will not find out about a US person’s foreign accounts, but it is becoming less and less likely.

Second, since the strategy of doing nothing implies a taxpayer’s conscious choice not to comply with the FBAR requirements, it may turn a relatively simple and non-willful situation into a complex and willful one. In other words, under these circumstances, if the IRS is able to find out about prior FBAR noncompliance, the IRS may pursue willful and, in extreme circumstances, even criminal FBAR penalties.

Contact Sherayzen Law Office for Professional Help With Resolving FBAR Noncompliance Issues

If you never filed your required FBARs and other US tax forms, contact Sherayzen Law Office for professional help. Our legal team is headed by one of the most experienced international tax lawyers in this area – Mr. Eugene Sherayzen. He has helped hundreds of US taxpayers around the world to successfully resolve their prior FBAR noncompliance, and He can help You!

Contact Us Today to Schedule Your Confidential Consultation!

2017 FBAR Currency Conversion Rates | FBAR Lawyer and Attorney

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Using proper currency conversion rates is a very important part of preparing 2017 FBAR and 2017 Form 8938. The instructions to both forms require (in case of FATCA Form 8938, this is the default choice) US taxpayers to use the 2017 FBAR Currency Conversion Rates published by the Treasury Department. The 2017 FBAR Currency Conversion Rates may also be used for other purposes, not just the preparation of the 2017 FBAR and Form 8938.

The 2017 FBAR Currency Conversion Rates are the December 31, 2017 rates officially published by the U.S. Department of Treasury (they are called “Treasury’s Financial Management Service rates” or the “FMS rates”) and they are the proper conversion rates that must be used while preparing FBAR and Form 8938.

Due to this importance of the 2017 FBAR Currency Conversion Rates to US taxpayers, international tax lawyers and international tax accountants, Sherayzen Law Office provides the table below the official 2017 FBAR Currency Conversion Rates (keep in mind, you still need to refer to the official website for any updates).

 

Country – Currency

Foreign Currency to $1.00
AFGHANISTAN – AFGHANI

69.3200
ALBANIA – LEK

110.6000
ALGERIA – DINAR

114.6590
ANGOLA – KWANZA

170.0000
ANTIGUA – BARBUDA – E. CARIBBEAN DOLLAR

2.7000
ARGENTINA – PESO

19.1600
ARMENIA – DRAM

485.0000
AUSTRALIA – DOLLAR

1.2790
AUSTRIA – EURO

0.8330
AZERBAIJAN – NEW MANAT

1.7100
BAHAMAS – DOLLAR

1.0000
BAHRAIN – DINAR

0.3770
BANGLADESH – TAKA

82.0000
BARBADOS – DOLLAR

2.0200
BELARUS – NEW RUBLE

1.9730
BELGIUM – EURO

0.8330
BELIZE – DOLLAR

2.0000
BENIN – CFA FRANC

562.3300
BERMUDA – DOLLAR

1.0000
BOLIVIA – BOLIVIANO

6.8600
BOSNIA – HERCEGOVINA – MARKA

1.6300
BOTSWANA – PULA

9.8040
BRAZIL – REAL

3.3120
BRUNEI – DOLLAR

1.3420
BULGARIA – LEV

1.6310
BURKINA FASO – CFA FRANC

562.3300
BURMA – KYAT

1354.0000
BURUNDI – FRANC

1720.0000
CAMBODIA (KHMER) – RIEL

4103.0000
CAMEROON – CFA FRANC

567.7900
CANADA – DOLLAR

1.2550
CAPE VERDE – ESCUDO

92.0260
CAYMAN ISLANDS – DOLLAR

0.8200
CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC – CFA FRANC

567.7900
CHAD – CFA FRANC

567.7900
CHILE – PESO

614.2300
CHINA – RENMINBI

6.5040
COLOMBIA – PESO

2981.7900
COMOROS – FRANC

411.0000
CONGO – CFA FRANC

567.7900
CONGO, DEM. REP – CONGOLESE FRANC

1580.0000
COSTA RICA – COLON

564.0000
COTE D’IVOIRE – CFA FRANC

562.3300
CROATIA – KUNA

6.2300
CUBA – PESO

1.0000
CYPRUS – EURO

0.8330
CZECH REPUBLIC – KORUNA

20.8840
DENMARK – KRONE

6.2070
DJIBOUTI – FRANC

177.0000
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC – PESO

48.1100
ECAUDOR – DOLARES

1.0000
EGYPT – POUND

17.7300
EL SALVADOR – DOLARES

1.0000
EQUATORIAL GUINEA – CFA FRANC

567.7900
ERITREA – NAKFA

15.0000
ESTONIA – EURO

0.8330
ETHIOPIA – BIRR

27.2000
EURO ZONE – EURO

0.8330
FIJI – DOLLAR

2.0170
FINLAND – EURO

0.8330
FRANCE – EURO

0.8330
GABON – CFA FRANC

567.7900
GAMBIA – DALASI

47.0000
GEORGIA – LARI

2.6100
GERMANY FRG – EURO

0.8330
GHANA – CEDI

4.5200
GREECE – EURO

0.8330
GRENADA – EAST CARIBBEAN DOLLAR

2.7000
GUATEMALA – QUENTZAL

7.3300
GUINEA – FRANC

9004.0000
GUINEA BISSAU – CFA FRANC

562.3300
GUYANA – DOLLAR

215.0000
HAITI – GOURDE

62.9500
HONDURAS – LEMPIRA

23.5000
HONG KONG – DOLLAR

7.8150
HUNGARY – FORINT

258.4500
ICELAND – KRONA

104.0900
INDIA – RUPEE

63.7500
INDONESIA – RUPIAH

13490.0000
IRAN – RIAL

36057.0000
IRAQ – DINAR

1166.0000
IRELAND – EURO

0.8330
ISRAEL – SHEKEL

3.4710
ITALY – EURO

0.8330
JAMAICA – DOLLAR

128.0000
JAPAN – YEN

112.5500
JERUSALEM – SHEKEL

3.4710
JORDAN – DINAR

0.7080
KAZAKHSTAN – TENGE

331.3100
KENYA – SHILLING

103.2000
KOREA – WON

1065.9301
KUWAIT – DINAR

0.3010
KYRGYZSTAN – SOM

69.0000
LAOS – KIP

8274.0000
LATVIA – EURO

0.8330
LEBANON – POUND

1500.0000
LESOTHO – SOUTH AFRICAN RAND

12.3160
LIBERIA – U.S. DOLLAR

125.1700
LIBYA – DINAR

1.3570
LITHUANIA – LITAS

0.8330
LUXEMBOURG – EURO

0.8330
MACAO – MOP

8.0000
MACEDONIA FYROM – DENAR

51.0700
MADAGASCAR – ARIA

3235.6201
MALAWI – KWACHA

731.0000
MALAYSIA – RINGGIT

4.0440
MALI – CFA FRANC

562.3300
MALTA – EURO

0.8330
MARSHALL ISLANDS – DOLLAR

1.0000
MARTINIQUE – EURO

0.8330
MAURITANIA – OUGUIYA

355.0000
MAURITIUS – RUPEE

33.4000
MEXICO – NEW PESO

19.7040
MICRONESIA – DOLLAR

1.0000
MOLDOVA – LEU

17.0580
MONGOLIA – TUGRIK

2427.3999
MONTENEGRO – EURO

0.8330
MOROCCO – DIRHAM

9.3520
MOZAMBIQUE – METICAL

58.8500
NAMIBIA – DOLLAR

12.3160
NEPAL – RUPEE

102.4000
NETHERLANDS – EURO

0.8330
NETHERLANDS ANTILLES – GUILDER

1.7800
NEW ZEALAND – DOLLAR

1.4050
NICARAGUA – CORDOBA

30.6000
NIGER – CFA FRANC

562.3300
NIGERIA – NAIRA

359.0000
NORWAY – KRONE

8.1960
OMAN – RIAL

0.3850
PAKISTAN – RUPEE

110.4000
PALAU – DOLLAR

1.0000
PANAMA – BALBOA

1.0000
PAPUA NEW GUINEA – KINA

3.1350
PARAGUAY – GUARANI

5574.0000
PERU – NUEVO SOL

3.2360
PHILIPPINES – PESO

49.8490
POLAND – ZLOTY

3.4830
PORTUGAL – EURO

0.8330
QATAR – RIYAL

3.6400
ROMANIA – LEU

3.8800
RUSSIA – RUBLE

57.8450
RWANDA – FRANC

855.0000
SAO TOME & PRINCIPE – DOBRAS

20597.2227
SAUDI ARABIA – RIYAL

3.7500
SENEGAL – CFA FRANC

562.3300
SERBIA – DINAR

101.3300
SEYCHELLES – RUPEE

13.3800
SIERRA LEONE – LEONE

7645.0000
SINGAPORE – DOLLAR

1.3360
SLOVAK REPUBLIC – EURO

0.8330
SLOVENIA – EURO

0.8330
SOLOMON ISLANDS – DOLLAR

7.4910
SOMALI – SHILLING

575.0000
SOUTH AFRICA – RAND

12.3160
SOUTH SUDANESE – POUND

126.0000
SPAIN – EURO

0.8330
SRI LANKA – RUPEE

153.4000
ST LUCIA – EC DOLLAR

2.7000
SUDAN – SUDANESE POUND

9.0000
SURINAME – GUILDER

7.5200
SWAZILAND – LILANGENI

12.3160
SWEDEN – KRONA

8.1930
SWITZERLAND – FRANC

0.9750
SYRIA – POUND

515.0000
TAIWAN – DOLLAR

29.6460
TAJIKISTAN – SOMONI

8.7500
TANZANIA – SHILLING

2235.0000
THAILAND – BAHT

32.6000
TIMOR – LESTE – DILI

1.0000
TOGO – CFA FRANC

562.3300
TONGA – PA’ANGA

2.1140
TRINIDAD & TOBAGO – DOLLAR

6.6300
TUNISIA – DINAR

2.4580
TURKEY – LIRA

3.7880
TURKMENISTAN – MANAT

3.4910
UGANDA – SHILLING

3635.0000
UKRAINE – HRYVNIA

28.1450
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES – DIRHAM

3.6730
UNITED KINGDOM – POUND STERLING

0.7400
URUGUAY – PESO

28.7600
UZBEKISTAN – SOM

8030.0000
VANUATU – VATU

105.0000
VENEZUELA – BOLIVAR

3345.0000
VIETNAM – DONG

22708.0000
WESTERN SAMOA – TALA

2.4400
YEMEN – RIAL

250.5000
ZAMBIA – NEW KWACHA

9.9750
ZAMBIA – KWACHA

5455.0000
ZIMBABWE – DOLLAR

1.0000

2017 FBAR Deadline | FinCEN Form 114 FBAR Lawyer & Attorney

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FinCEN recently confirmed the 2017 FBAR deadline and the automatic extension option.

2017 FBAR Deadline: FBAR Background

FinCEN Form 114, the Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts, is commonly known as FBAR.  US taxpayers should use this form to report their financial interest in or signatory authority over foreign financial accounts. Failure to timely file the FBAR may result in the imposition of draconian FBAR penalties.

2017 FBAR Deadline: Traditional FBAR Deadline

Prior to 2016 FBAR, the taxpayers had to file their FBARs for each relevant calendar year by June 30 of the following year. No filings extensions were allowed. The last FBAR that followed this deadline was 2015 FBAR (its due date was June 30, 2016).

2017 FBAR Deadline: Changes to FBAR Deadline Starting 2016 FBAR

The Surface Transportation and Veterans Health Care Choice Improvement Act of 2015 (the “Act”) changed the FBAR deadline starting with 2016 FBAR.  Section 2006(b)(11) of the Act requires the FBARs to be filed by the due date of that year’s tax return (i.e. usually April 15), not June 30.

Furthermore, during the transition period, the IRS granted to US taxpayers an automatic extension of the FBAR filing deadline to October 15. The taxpayers do not need to make any specific requests in order for extension to be granted.

In other words, starting 2016 FBAR, the Act adjusted the FBAR due date to coincide with the federal income tax filing deadlines. Moreover, the new FBAR filing deadline will follow to the letter the federal income tax due date guidance. The federal income tax due date guidance states that, in situations where the tax return due date falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, the IRS must delay the due date until the next business day.

2017 FBAR Deadline

Based on the new law, the 2017 FBAR deadline will be April 17, 2018 (same as 2017 income tax return due date). If a taxpayer does not file his 2017 FBAR by April 17, 2018, then the IRS will automatically grant an extension until October 15, 2018. Failure to file 2017 FBAR by October 15, 2018, may result in the imposition of FBAR civil and criminal penalties.