FATCA filing requirements of certain foreign financial institutions (FFIs). If you are required to report an account that is a U.S. account under chapter 4 of the Code (chapter 4), you may be eligible to elect to report the account on Form(s) 1099 instead of on Form 8966, “FATCA Report.”
Caution: If the account is either a U.S. account held by a passive NFFE that is a U.S. owned foreign entity or an account held by an owner-documented FFI, do not file a Form 1099 with respect to such an account. Instead, you must file a Form 8966, “FATCA Report,” in accordance with its requirements and its accompanying instructions to report the account for chapter 4 purposes. …
Segarra had made a series of audio recordings while at the New York Fed. Worried about what she was witnessing, Segarra wanted a record in case events were disputed. So she had purchased a tiny recorder at the Spy Store and began capturing what took place at Goldman and with her bosses.
William Byrnes pioneered the “online classroom” so he could continue teaching, despite a prognosis of lifetime disabilities resulting from traumatic injury. The program he developed to guarantee his future employment has now become a groundbreaking distance learning model used by higher education institutions and the U.S. military.
Byrnes suffered life threatening injuries in an African ski country accident and spent six months in the hospital undergoing grueling recovery from physical and brain trauma. Doctors could not predict his level of recovery, nor his future quality of life. In an effort to prepare himself for a productive future, Byrnes developed online, multi-media teaching methodologies that effectively ignore disability. ….
“Millions of people enjoy hobbies that are also a source of income. Some examples include stamp and coin collecting, craft making, and horsemanship.” the IRS stated in its Summertime Tax Tip 2014-15.
A taxpayer must report on the tax return the income earned from a hobby. The rules for how a taxpayer reports the income and expenses depend on whether the activity is a hobby or a business. There are special rules and limits for deductions a taxpayer can claim for a hobby. Five tax tips about hobbies:
1. Is it a Business or a Hobby? A key feature of a business is that a taxpayer do it to make a profit. Taxpayers often engage in a hobby for sport or recreation, not to make a profit. A taxpayer should consider nine factors when to determine whether an activity is a hobby. A taxpayer must base the determination on all the facts and circumstances of the situation.
2. Allowable Hobby Deductions. Within certain limits, a taxpayer can usually deduct ordinary and necessary hobby expenses. An ordinary expense is one that is common and accepted for the activity. A necessary expense is one that is appropriate for the activity.
3. Limits on Hobby Expenses. Generally, a taxpayer can only deduct your hobby expenses up to the amount of hobby income. If hobby expenses are more than the hobby’s income, then a loss results from the activity. That loss is not deductible from other income.
4. How to Deduct Hobby Expenses. A taxpayer must itemize deductions on a tax return in order to deduct hobby expenses. Expenses may fall into three types of deductions, and special rules apply to each type. See of Publication 535 for the rules about how you claim them on Schedule A, Itemized Deductions.
Due to a number of recent changes in the law, taxpayers are currently facing many questions connected to important issues such as healthcare, home office use, capital gains, investments, and whether an individual is considered an employee or a contractor. Financial advisors are continually looking for updated tax information that can help them provide the right answers to the right people at the right time. This book provides fast, clear, and authoritative answers to pressing questions, and it does so in the convenient, timesaving, Q&A format for which Tax Facts is famous.
Anyone interested can try Tax Facts on Individuals & Small Business, risk-free for 30 days, with a 100% guarantee of complete satisfaction. For more information, please go to www.nationalunderwriter.com/TaxFactsIndividuals or call 1-800-543-0874.
This Article investigates an increasingly important yet under-developed body of law: regulation of virtual currency. At its peak in March of 2014, the daily volume of Bitcoin transactions in U.S. Dollars exceeded $575,000,000. …
Byrnes became involved with distance education models after he suffered a traumatic injury in a ski accident. Since then, Byrnes has developed online, multi-media teaching methodologies that effectively ignore disability. Byrnes multi-media approach continuously incorporates the newest technologies to accommodate a wide range of disabilities, making it easier for many more individuals to achieve their educational goals.
– two new Q&As, one addressing whether a nonreporting FFI under the IGA should register for a GIIN, the other addressing whether a substitute W-8, allowed for IGA countries, is FATCA compliant.
– new FATCA compliant 1099s that have a check-box added to identify an FFI filing the 1099 to satisfy its chapter 4 reporting requirement.
Still, the government’s default measure vastly underestimates the problem. The government considers people in default if they have made no payments in 360 days. A broader measure by Federal_Reserve_Governors_sealthe New York Federal Reserve—which accounts for all Americans with student loans—shows that roughly one in four borrowers are at least 90 days behind on a payment.
The Department of the Treasury (Treasury Department) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) are concerned that certain recent inversion transactions are inconsistent with the purposes of sections 7874 and 367 of the Internal Revenue Code (Code). The Treasury Department and the IRS understand that certain inversion transactions are motivated in substantial part by the ability to engage in certain tax avoidance transactions after the inversion that would not be possible in the absence of the inversion. In light of these concerns, this notice announces that the Treasury Department and the IRS intend to issue regulations under sections 304(b)(5)(B), 367, 956(e), 7701(l), and 7874 of the Code.
Section 2 of this notice describes regulations that the Treasury Department and the IRS intend to issue that will address transactions that are structured to avoid the purposes of sections 7874 and 367 by (i) for purposes of section 7874, disregarding certain stock of a foreign acquiring corporation that holds a significant amount of passive assets; (ii) for purposes of sections 7874 and 367, disregarding certain non-ordinary course distributions; and (iii) for purposes of section 7874, providing guidance on the treatment of certain transfers of stock of a foreign acquiring corporation (through a spin-off or otherwise) that occur after an acquisition.
Section 3 of this notice describes regulations that the Treasury Department and the IRS intend to issue that will address certain tax avoidance by (i) preventing the avoidance of section 956 through post-inversion acquisitions by controlled foreign corporations (CFCs) of obligations of (or equity investments in) the new foreign parent corporation or certain foreign affiliates; (ii) preventing the avoidance of U.S. tax on pre-inversion earnings and profits of CFCs through post-inversion transactions that otherwise would terminate the CFC status of foreign subsidiaries and/or substantially dilute the U.S. shareholders’ interest in those earnings and profits; and (iii) limiting the ability to remove untaxed foreign earnings and profits of CFCs through related party stock sales subject to section 304.
Section 4 of this notice provides the effective dates of the regulations described in this notice. Section 5 of this notice requests comments and provides contact information for purposes of submitting comments.
Form 1099 Reporting Responsibility, Private Arrangement Intermediaries (PAIs) and Joint Account and Agency Options under the Revised QI Agreement, Special Procedures for New QIs during Calendar Year 2014, and QI Application and Renewal Procedures for Central Banks of Issue
This applies to certain entities that apply to enter into or have entered into the revised Qualified Intermediary (QI) agreement published in Revenue Procedure 2014-39, 2014-29 I.R.B. 151.
I. Form 1099 Reporting Responsibility
Section 8.06 of the revised QI Agreement provides the Form 1099 reporting responsibilities of a QI and incorporates the coordination rule provided in §1.6049-4(c)(4) for Form 1099 reporting with reporting under chapter 4 or an applicable IGA. The following paragraphs are revised as set forth below.
Section 8.06(A). Reportable Amount. QI must file a Form 1099 in accordance with the instructions to the form for the aggregate amount of a particular type of reportable amount paid to an account holder that is (or is presumed) a U.S. non-exempt recipient (whether a direct or indirect account holder). However, QI is not required to file a Form 1099 on a reportable amount if–
Section 8.06(A)(1). QI is a non-U.S. payor reporting the account holder of a U.S. account under its FATCA requirements as a participating FFI or registered deemed-compliant FFI (including a reporting Model 1 FFI) and the other conditions of §1.6049-4(c)(4)(i) are satisfied;
Section 8.06(B)(1). QI is a non-U.S. payor reporting the account holder of a U.S. account under its FATCA requirements as a participating FFI or registered deemed-compliant FFI (including a reporting Model 1 FFI) and the other conditions of §1.6049-4(c)(4)(i) are satisfied;
The corrections described above conform to the coordination rule under §1.6049-4(c)(4)(i) by eliminating the Form 1099 reporting requirement for non-U.S. payors that are reporting Model 1 FFIs if the conditions of §1.6049-4(c)(4)(i) are satisfied. The reference to backup withholding in section 8.06(A) of the revised QI agreement is also removed to be consistent with section 8.06(B) and because the backup withholding requirements are referenced separately, to the extent applicable, in sections 8.06(A)(1)-(6) of the revised QI agreement.
II. Private Arrangement Intermediaries (PAIs) and Joint Account and Agency Options under the Revised QI Agreement
Section 4 of the QI Agreement provides the requirements for a QI that enters into an agreement with a PAI or applies the joint account or agency option to a partnership or trust. Section 4 will include the following:
A QI may apply the joint account option (section 4.05 of the revised QI agreement) to a partnership or trust that is an owner-documented FFI or an NFFE (other than a WP or WT) that otherwise meets the requirements of section 4.05 of the revised QI Agreement;
A PAI or partnership or trust to which a QI applies the agency option (section 4.06 of the revised QI agreement) may provide its documentation and other information to the QI for inclusion in the QI’s periodic review described in section 10.04 of the revised QI Agreement instead of performing the review itself and providing the QI with a certification of its compliance;
A partnership or trust to which a QI applies the joint account or agency option must waive any legal prohibitions against providing its records to the QI (rather than the IRS); and
A QI may continue to apply the rules of sections 4 and 4A of the former QI agreement (as published in Revenue Procedure 2002-12, 2000-1 C.B. 387 (as amended)) to a PAI or a partnership or trust to which it has applied the joint account or agency option until January 1, 2015, provided that the QI has entered into an agreement with such entity prior to June 30, 2014, pursuant to the terms of the former QI agreement.
The modifications described above are consistent with the provisions in the joint account and agency option section of the revised Withholding Foreign Partnership and Withholding Foreign Trust Agreements. See sections 9.01 and 9.02 of the Withholding Foreign Partnership and Withholding Foreign Trust Agreements published in Revenue Procedure 2014-47, 2014-35 I.R.B. 393.
III. New QIs for Calendar Year 2014.
Section 1.03 of Revenue Procedure 2014-39 provides that a QI that submits an application for QI status before July 31, 2014 and is approved during calendar year 2014 may act as a QI in accordance with Revenue Procedure 2000-12 (as amended) until June 30, 2014, as if the QI agreement of such QI were effective on January 1, 2014 and expires on June 30, 2014. The IRS is allowing an entity that submits an application for QI status at any time during the 2014 calendar year, if such application t is approved by the IRS by the end of 2014, to act as a QI in accordance with the former QI agreement from January 1, 2014, until June 30, 2014 as if the QI agreement were effective during that period. Thus, a QI does not need to submit its application before July 31, 2014 in order to benefit from this retroactive allowance (as described in section 1.03 of Revenue Procedure 2014-39). The IRS will specify in its approval letter to a QI how such QI may notify the IRS that it will act as a QI for the entire 2014 calendar year. See also IRS Qualified Intermediaries News, Issue Number 2014-03, which is supplemented and modified by this issue.
IV. QI Application and Renewal Procedures for Certain Central Banks of Issue
Section 1.02 of Revenue Procedure 2014-39 provides that a central bank of issue may enter into a QI agreement. A central bank of issue that is not required to register on the registration portal to obtain status as a participating FFI or registered deemed-compliant FFI (as described in sections 1.02 and 3.02 of Revenue Procedure 2014-39) must apply for or renew its QI agreement by submitting an application or request for renewal to the Foreign Intermediaries Program at the address provided in section 3.01 of Revenue Procedure 2014-39. A central bank of issue described in the preceding sentence that renews its QI agreement on or before July 31, 2014, will have a QI agreement with an effective date of June 30, 2014. If such QI renews after July 31, 2014, the effective date of the QI agreement will be the date of renewal provided in the IRS approval notice. A central bank of issue that is not required to obtain status as a participating FFI or registered deemed-compliant FFI and that applies for QI status will have a QI agreement with an effective date of the date it is issued a QI-EIN.
… arise out of a fraudulent scheme in which insiders of publicly-traded penny stock companies paid secret kickbacks to a purported corrupt hedge fund manager, who was in fact an undercover agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“Fund Manager”), in exchange for the Fund Manager’s purchase of restricted stock of the penny stock companies on behalf of his purported hedge fund (“the Fund”), which did not actually exist. …
The OECD and its Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information have today been mandated by the G20 to develop toolkits to support developing countries addressing base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) and to launch pilot projects to assist them to move towards automatic exchange of information. This mandate comes in response to two reports:
a Report on the Impact of Base Erosion and Profit Shifting in Low Income Countries (Part 2); and
a Roadmap for developing country participation in the new global standard for the automatic exchange of information between jurisdictions.
The OECD will report to the G20 Leaders in November on its plan to deepen the involvement of developing countries in the OECD/G20 BEPS project and ensure that their concerns are addressed.
Detection of tax evasion is critical for developing countries in particular: US$8.5 trillion of household assets are held abroad. In 2012, more than 25% of all Latin American and almost 33% of all Middle Eastern and African household wealth was held abroad compared to the worldwide average of 6%7. Estimates of tax revenue and illicit financial flows lost by developing countries generally range in the hundreds of billions of US dollars per year, exceeding the amount of official development assistance.
BEPS in Low Income Countries
Following-up on the release of the first set of BEPS recommendations last week, this new report recognises that the risks faced by developing countries from BEPS, and the challenges faced in addressing them, may differ to those faced by advanced economies. It draws on extensive consultations with developing countries to discuss BEPS issues which are a key priority to them, for example transfer pricing and the abuse of tax treaties, as well as issues that are not part of the BEPS Action Plan, such as tax incentives which may erode the tax base in the developing world but do little to attract inward investment.
Acknowledging that developing countries face specific policy issues and implementation challenges that are not always shared with developed countries, the report sets out areas where additional guidance and tools are required to ensure that the BEPS outcomes fully benefit lower capacity countries. It also highlights the actions developing countries have taken, many with international support, that indicate there are good opportunities to raise additional revenues from addressing BEPS issues and to create a more certain and stable investment climate for business.
Many Global Forum members reported this as a key benefit of AEOI and evidence supports this conclusion. For example, in Denmark, a 2010 study found that tax evasion occurred only in 0.3% of cases where income was subject to third-party reporting, but in 37% cases for self-reported income. In the US, 99% compliance was achieved for individuals whose income was reported to the tax administration by financial institutions whereas misreporting by individuals was found in 56% of cases in which there was little or no third party reporting.
Roadmap for developing country participation in AEOI
The Roadmap points the way to developing country participation in the new standard on automatic exchange of information. Drawing on the Global Forum’s extensive consultations with developing countries, the World Bank Group, other international organisations and civil society, the Roadmap provides a stepped approach to ensuring developing countries can overcome obstacles in implementing the new standard. It identifies the benefits, costs and the fundamental building blocks that developing countries need in order to meet the standard.
Pilot projects with developing countries are one of the key ways in which the Roadmap will be implemented. The pilot projects will take a progressive approach to implementation, with a focus on meeting the particular needs of each developing county pilot and ensuring that all confidentiality standards are reached. The pilot projects will be undertaken with the support of the World Bank Group and G20 countries, and include partnerships with more experienced countries. The results of these pilot projects will help to redress the knowledge imbalance between tax administrations in developing countries and tax evaders.
Over half of the Global Forum’s 121 member jurisdictions are developing countries and stand to benefit from the Roadmap and its implementation.
…bankers and brokers defiantly have hardened in their quest for bigger and bigger paydays. Wolf of Wall Street? What we’re seeing is a pack of wild dogs that continue to use any means necessary to line their pockets no matter the fines, convictions and settlements that regulators throw at them.
The Internal Revenue Code provides for dollar limitations on benefits and contributions under qualified retirement plans. IRC Section 415 requires the limits to be adjusted annually for cost-of-living increases. The IRS announced on October 31, 2013 cost-of-living adjustments applicable to dollar limitations for pension plans and other items for tax year 2014.
Please see the COLA Increases Table below for prior years’ dollar limitations and Internal Revenue Code references.
2014
2013
2012
IRAs
IRA Contribution Limit
$5,500
$5,500
$5,000
IRA Catch-Up Contributions
1,000
1,000
1,000
IRA AGI Deduction Phase-out Starting at
Joint Return
96,000
95,000
92,000
Single or Head of Household
60,000
59,000
58,000
SEP
SEP Minimum Compensation
550
550
550
SEP Maximum Contribution
52,000
51,000
50,000
SEP Maximum Compensation
260,000
255,000
250,000
SIMPLE Plans
SIMPLE Maximum Contributions
12,000
12,000
11,500
Catch-up Contributions
2,500
2,500
2,500
401(k), 403(b), Profit-Sharing Plans, etc.
Annual Compensation
260,000
255,000
250,000
Elective Deferrals
17,500
17,500
17,000
Catch-up Contributions
5,500
5,500
5,500
Defined Contribution Limits
52,000
51,000
50,000
ESOP Limits
1,050,000
210,000
1,035,000205,000
1,015,000200,000
Other
HCE Threshold
115,000
115,000
115,000
Defined Benefit Limits
210,000
205,000
200,000
Key Employee
170,000
165,000
165,000
457 Elective Deferrals
17,500
17,500
17,000
Control Employee (board member or officer)
105,000
100,000
100,000
Control Employee (compensation-based)
210,000
205,000
205,000
Taxable Wage Base
117,000
113,700
110,100
Due to a number of recent changes in the law, taxpayers are currently facing many questions connected to important issues such as healthcare, home office use, capital gains, investments, and whether an individual is considered an employee or a contractor. Financial advisors are continually looking for updated tax information that can help them provide the right answers to the right people at the right time. This book provides fast, clear, and authoritative answers to pressing questions, and it does so in the convenient, timesaving, Q&A format for which Tax Facts is famous.
Anyone interested can try Tax Facts on Individuals & Small Business, risk-free for 30 days, with a 100% guarantee of complete satisfaction. For more information, please go to www.nationalunderwriter.com/TaxFactsIndividuals or call 1-800-543-0874.
According to court documents and evidence introduced at the trial of his coconspirators, Scarfo is a made member of the Lucchese organized crime family. In April 2007, Scarfo, Salvatore Pelullo and others devised a scheme to take over FirstPlus. Scarfo and Pelullo used threats of economic harm to intimidate and remove the prior management and board of directors and replaced those officers with individuals beholden to Scarfo and Pelullo.
Utilizing a contingent valuation survey approached that has been used to estimate the cost of street crimes, the average willingness to pay for a 10% reduction in each of these four offenses is estimated to range between $70 and $75 per household. In the case of consumer fraud and financial fraud – where estimates of prevalence are available, this translates into a willingness to pay of $2,700 per consumer fraud and $21,000 for financial fraud. In contrast, the out-of-pocket costs to victims of consumer fraud have been estimated to average about $100, and about $200 to $250 for various types of financial frauds. These figures also compare favorably to the willingness to pay for a reduced household burglary of $18,000.
Starting in 2013, some taxpayers may be subject to the Net Investment Income Tax. You may owe this tax if you have income from investments and your income for the year is more than certain limits. Here are four things from the IRS that you should know about this tax:
1. Net Investment Income Tax. The law requires a tax of 3.8 percent on the lesser of either your net investment income or the amount by which your modified adjusted gross income exceeds a threshold amount based on your filing status.
2. Net investment income. This amount generally includes income such as:
interest
dividends
capital gains
rental and royalty income
non-qualified annuities
This list is not all-inclusive. Net investment income normally does not include wages and most self-employment income. It does not include unemployment compensation, Social Security benefits or alimony. Net investment income also does not include any gain on the sale of your main home that you exclude from your income.
After you add up your total investment income, you then subtract your deductions that are properly allocable to this income. The result is your net investment income. Refer to the instructions for Form 8960, Net Investment Income Tax for more on how to figure your net investment income or MAGI.
3. Income threshold amounts. You may owe the tax if you have net investment income and your modified adjusted gross income is more than the following amount for your filing status:
Filing Status Threshold Amount
Single or Head of household $200,000
Married filing jointly $250,000
Married filing separately $125,000
Qualifying widow(er) with a child $250,000
Due to a number of recent changes in the law, taxpayers are currently facing many questions connected to important issues such as healthcare, home office use, capital gains, investments, and whether an individual is considered an employee or a contractor. Financial advisors are continually looking for updated tax information that can help them provide the right answers to the right people at the right time. This book provides fast, clear, and authoritative answers to pressing questions, and it does so in the convenient, timesaving, Q&A format for which Tax Facts is famous.
Anyone interested can try Tax Facts on Individuals & Small Business, risk-free for 30 days, with a 100% guarantee of complete satisfaction. For more information, please go to www.nationalunderwriter.com/TaxFactsIndividuals or call 1-800-543-0874.
read the synopsis by the law firm of Pepper Hamilton LLP …
Warrant Issued Pursuant to the SCA
This matter began with an application by the United States for a “search and seizure warrant” targeting a specific @msn.com e-mail account provided by Microsoft, and used by a person who is the subject of a government narcotics investigation. Magistrate Judge James C. Francis IV issued the warrant, after which Microsoft undertook to locate the data associated with the account. Microsoft determined that there were two buckets of data related to the account, one stored in the United States and the other in Ireland.
The “noncontent” bucket consisted of information such as the sender and recipient e-mail addresses as well as date and time information. Microsoft stored this information in the United States, and produced it in response to the warrant. The “content” bucket of information included the substance of the e-mails and their subject lines. For this particular user, Microsoft stored this information at a data center operated by a Microsoft subsidiary in Dublin, Ireland. Microsoft did not produce this information and instead moved to quash the warrant to the extent that it required information from the Dublin data center. Notably, Microsoft began the practice of using foreign data centers in 2010 to address the problem of “latency” that occurred when the servers were too far away from the user. The Irish data center would typically serve users that live closer to Ireland than the United States.
The first 7 elements of the Action Plan released today focus on helping countries to:
ensure the coherence of corporate income taxation at the international level, through new model tax and treaty provisions to neutralise hybrid mismatch arrangements (Action 2);
realign taxation and relevant substance to restore the intended benefits of international standards and to prevent the abuse of tax treaties (Action 6);
August 2014, STEP, alongside ICAEW and The Law Society of England and Wales, updated their joint guide to the treatment of UK trusts under the UK-US Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) to take into account minor revisions from HMRC. The trust tests (left hand side of the flowchart) have been amended. Detailed questions in Appendix II of the guidance have also been revised to reflect this. The changes are not fundamental.
The IRS revealed in its Summertime Tax Tip 2014-23 that some of the costs a taxpayer pays for higher education can lead to a taxpayer owing less tax. Here are several important tax facts about “education tax credits” from the IRS:
American Opportunity Tax Credit. The AOTC can be up to $2,500 annually for an eligible student. This credit applies for the first four years of higher education. Forty percent of the AOTC is refundable. That means a taxpayer may be able to get up to $1,000 of the credit as a refund payment from the IRS, even if no tax is owed.
Lifetime Learning Credit. With the LLC, a taxpayer may be able to claim a tax credit of up to $2,000 on the federal tax return. There is no limit on the number of years the LLC can be claimed for an eligible student.
One credit per student. A taxpayer may claim only one type of education credit per student on the federal tax return each year. If more than one student qualifies for a credit in the same year, then the taxpayer can claim a different credit for each student.
Qualified expenses. A taxpayer may include qualified expenses to calculate the credit. This may include amounts paid for tuition, fees and other related expenses for an eligible student.
Eligible educational institutions.Eligible schools are those that offer education beyond high school. This includes most colleges and universities. Vocational schools or other postsecondary schools may also qualify.
Form 1098-T. In most cases, a taxpayer will receive Form 1098-T, Tuition Statement, from the school. This form reports the qualified expenses to the IRS and to the taxpayer. A taxpayer may notice that the amount shown on the form is different than the amount actually paid. Some of the paid costs may not appear on Form 1098-T. For example, the cost of textbooks may not appear on the form, but these textbook costs still may be able to be claimed as part of the credit.
Nonresident alien. A F-1 student visa usually files a federal tax return as a nonresident alien. A nonresident alien may not claim an education tax credit for any part of the tax year unless electing to be treated as a resident alien for federal tax purposes.
Income limits. These credits are subject to income limitations and may be reduced or eliminated, based on the taxpayer’s income.
Due to a number of recent changes in the law, taxpayers are currently facing many questions connected to important issues such as healthcare, home office use, capital gains, investments, and whether an individual is considered an employee or a contractor. Financial advisors are continually looking for updated tax information that can help them provide the right answers to the right people at the right time. This book provides fast, clear, and authoritative answers to pressing questions, and it does so in the convenient, timesaving, Q&A format for which Tax Facts is famous.
Anyone interested can try Tax Facts on Individuals & Small Business, risk-free for 30 days, with a 100% guarantee of complete satisfaction. For more information, please go to www.nationalunderwriter.com/TaxFactsIndividuals or call 1-800-543-0874.
The number of Canadian millionaires increased 7.2 percent last year, helping make North America the wealthiest region in the world, according to a June 18 report by consulting firm Cap Gemini SA and Royal Bank of Canada. Canadians with at least $1 million in investable assets climbed to 320,000 people, about 1 percent of the country’s population, with a collective wealth of $979 billion, according to the report.
The benefits of creating a stream of tax-free income during retirement is key to most successful retirement income strategies, and a Roth conversion that allows the client to “undo” the transaction if investments perform poorly is an attractive option for accomplishing this goal. However, despite the benefits that recharacterizing a Roth conversion can offer, this route can sometimes function as a double-edged sword by erasing the gains on successful investments within the account. Despite this, …
International Financial Law Prof Blog: The OECD will release its first recommendations for a coordinated international approach to combat tax avoidance by multinational enterprises under the OECD/G20 Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) Project on Tuesday 16 September 2014. …
International Financial Law Prof Blog: For example, in response to a request received by a U.S. corrupt client from a U.S. transfer agent who had to determine whether the proceeds from manipulative stock trading transaction were taxable under U.S. law, the defendant Bandfield forwarded an IRS Form signed by co-defendant Godfrey as the nominee for the shell company which had been set up at the request of the client. At one point during the government’s investigation, Bandfield boasted to an undercover law enforcement agent that he had specifically designed this “slick” corporate structure to counter President Barack Obama’s new laws, a reference to FATCA….
International Financial Law Prof Blog – New studies show that, despite relatively stable conditions, fixed annuity sales have increased considerably in 2014 over 2013, as a perhaps unexpected number of clients flock toward these traditional guaranteed income products.
The tiny state is perennially at the top of the list of global tax havens and has gained a reputation as place where those with something to hide – embezzlers, arms merchants, money launders, drug dealers and the like – can set up shop, no questions asked. This is thanks to Delaware laws that allow the true owners of a corporate entity to remain a secret.
At least one of the banks has linked the breach to Russian state-sponsored hackers, said one of the people. The FBI is investigating whether the attack could have been in retaliation for U.S.-imposed sanctions on Russia, said the second person, who also asked not to be identified, citing the continuing investigation.
The actual response to your previous Tax Connections post is that you “should” be correct. I have now lost three ‘should’ bets (July, Aug and Sept) as to the number of registrants.
My educated ‘guess’ back in March (I prefer to call it ‘analysis’ but I’ve been too far off to use that term) put the number of GIIN registrants at close to 200,000 at this point. Moreover, I calculated with some precision, and understanding of the industry, that the UK would have 10,000 FFI GIINs registered, while France and Germany would each have 5,000.
In my defense, back in April and May I was still of the opinion that only 300,000 FFIs, by that FATCA definition (after exemptions by regulation and by IGA, after sponsored entities), would need to actually register. However, I have been later convinced, in talking with high level bank and financial institution compliance officers in charge of FATCA, that the number if certainly north of 500,000. How far North? There is much disagreement. I think that my discussions with Haydon Perryman of Streveus have been most enlightening for my sometimes myopic US goggles.
How many sponsored entities will there be? Will sponsored entities seek a GIIN anyway (I have heard that this may be the case)?
For countries without a USA DTA, will FFIs simply divest because collecting all the W8s / equivalents is costs more than the relative safety of the T-bill? Some investment professionals say the precipice of divestment is the quarter leading up to gross proceeds withholding. Others say that gross proceeds withholding is the real FFI registration deadline.
But along this argument, one potential for the foot dragging is that institutions are figuring out how to handle the back office complexities of collecting the required tax information for at least each country of investment/doing business in. It’s not that they are protesting FATCA. It’s just that FATCA is one piece of an increasingly complex data gathering, management and dissemination puzzle, along with the UK’s requirements and its tax forms (the UK we know about), and how many other countries? And the OECD.
On the other hand, in 2003 I wrote a 900 page report about this exact same FATCA type issue. Same horror stories except then it was called the European Union Tax Savings directive. While compliance for the EU states’ institutions, territories that were drug into it, and 3rd party states like Switzerland, may have been expensive, they survived. Capital flight from Switzerland and the Channel Islands to SIngapore was exactly as predicted. But the compliance was like a snowball rolling down a cliff. Most of the institutions came on-line only at the last moment.
Will October finally see the big jump? Probably not based on the decline of September’s results. But just looking at the UK for a moment, the UK professional associations set an internal suggested best practice deadline of October 25th for GIIN registration. So the November list – I expect to see the UK registration to be higher than the Cayman Islands. The UK Revenue stated, after the IGA was signed, that 75,000 UK entities were still impacted (and I read that as most requiring registration). Cut the 75,000 in half – so at least 30,000 for UK November seems reasonable.
China, Brazil? They’ll register in big numbers – on December 31st. I have read on other blogs that their institutions may roll their interest earning US investments into bonds or securities and hold out another year. Automatic financial information exchange has reached inevitability. So kicking and screaming they may come to the dinner table, but come they will.
In IRS Special Edition Tax Tip 2014-13, it discussed the tax issues of students who work summer jobs. Many students take a job in the summer after school lets out. The IRS provided eight tax tips for students who take a summer job.
1. The IRS stated that a student should not be surprised when an employer withholds taxes from the paycheck. But if the student is self-employed, then he or she may have to pay estimated taxes directly to the IRS on certain dates during the year. This is called a “pay-as-you-go” tax system.
2. As a new employee, a student must complete a Form W-4, Employee’s Withholding Allowance Certificate. An employer will use it to figure how much federal income tax to withhold from the paycheck. The IRS Withholding Calculator tool on IRS.gov can help a student fill out the form.
3. Keep in mind that all tip income is taxable. If a student receives tips, then the student must keep a daily log so that he or she can report them to the IRS. A student must report $20 or more in cash tips in any one month to the employer. All yearly tips must be reported on the tax return.
4. Money earned doing work for others is taxable. Some work may count as self-employment. This can include jobs like baby-sitting and lawn mowing. Keep good records of expenses related to this work. Some expenses may be deducted from the income on the tax return. A deduction may help lower the final tax due.
5. If a student is ROTC, then active duty pay, such as pay received for summer camp, is taxable. But the subsistence allowance while in advanced training is not taxable.
6. A student may not earn enough from a summer job to owe income tax. But an employer usually must withhold Social Security and Medicare taxes from any pay. If a student is self-employed, then the student must pay these directly to the IRS. Yet, these count toward coverage under the Social Security system.
7. If a student is a newspaper carrier or distributor, special rules apply. If certain conditions, then the student is considered self-employed. But if those conditions are not met and the student is under age 18, then the student is usually exempt from Social Security and Medicare taxes.
8. The student may not earn enough money from a summer job to be required to file a tax return. Even if that is true, the student will probably want to file. For example, if an employer withheld income tax from the paycheck, then the employee will need to file a return to receive a refund of those taxes. The student can prepare and e-file a tax return for free using IRS Free File.
Due to a number of recent changes in the law, taxpayers are currently facing many questions connected to important issues such as healthcare, home office use, capital gains, investments, and whether an individual is considered an employee or a contractor. Financial advisors are continually looking for updated tax information that can help them provide the right answers to the right people at the right time. This book provides fast, clear, and authoritative answers to pressing questions, and it does so in the convenient, timesaving, Q&A format for which Tax Facts is famous.
Anyone interested can try Tax Facts on Individuals & Small Business, risk-free for 30 days, with a 100% guarantee of complete satisfaction. For more information, please go to www.nationalunderwriter.com/TaxFactsIndividuals or call 1-800-543-0874.
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) today imposed a civil money penalty of $125,000 against BPI, Inc., a New Jersey money services business (MSB), for willful and repeated violations of the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA). In November 2013, BPI’s parent, Banco BPI, S.A., received approval from the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System to establish representative offices in New Jersey and Massachusetts and BPI ceased operations as an MSB in March 2014.
The IRS published its September list of 99,861 FFIs registered for FATCA. But that’s just an increase of about 4,500 registrations since the August list of 95,239. The disappointing September result is a harbinger of the rough waters ahead for general FATCA compliance. Considering the growth in registrations has slowed dramtically from the July to August increase of only7,246 additional entities (up from 87,993 in July), many industry watchers are sounding the alarm bells.
How Many Foreign Financial Institutions Are Still Not Registered? Most!
Haydon Perryman, FATCA Compliance expert of Strevus, and I have been undertaking (and publishing) the leading, same-day, analysis of the previous June 2nd and the July 1st of the FATCA FFI GIIN list by country, by IGA, by EAG, as well as exploring other interesting aspects of registered FFIs, and FATCA compliance documentation (e.g. W-8s and equivalent forms allowed by IGA). Haydon brings the practical side to bear having established the FATCA compliance system for Tier 1 UK institutions and Tier 1 EU ones, and I the academic side being the primary author of Lexis’ Guide to FATCA Compliance and an international tax professor.
In the IRS Summertime Tax Tip 2014-06, it discussed the tax tips associated with travelling for a charity. The IRS directed the tax tips to taxpayers that plan to donate services to charity this summer, such as travel as part of the service.
The IRS disclosed five tax tips to assist with using the travel expenses to help lower taxes when filing the tax return for 2014.
1. A taxpayer cannot deduct the value of your services that is provided to charity. the taxpayer may be able to deduct some out-of-pocket costs paid to provide the services. This can include the cost of travel.
The out-of pocket costs must be:
• unreimbursed,
• directly connected with the services,
• expenses you had only because of the services you gave, and
• not personal, living or family expenses.
2. The volunteer work must be for a qualified charity. Most groups other than churches and governments must apply to the IRS to become qualified. Ask the group about its IRS status before donating services that include out-of-pocket expenses. The Select Check tool on IRS.gov can be used to check a charity’s IRS status.
3. Some types of travel do not qualify for a tax deduction. For example, a taxpayer cannot deduct costs if a significant part of the trip involves recreation or a vacation.
4. A taxpayer can deduct travel expenses if the work is real and substantial throughout the trip. But the expenses may not be deducted if the taxpayer only has nominal duties or does not have any duties for significant parts of the trip.
5. Deductible travel expenses may include:
• air, rail and bus transportation,
• car expenses,
• lodging costs,
• the cost of meals, and
• taxi or other transportation costs between the airport or station and your hotel.
Due to a number of recent changes in the law, taxpayers are currently facing many questions connected to important issues such as healthcare, home office use, capital gains, investments, and whether an individual is considered an employee or a contractor. Financial advisors are continually looking for updated tax information that can help them provide the right answers to the right people at the right time. This book provides fast, clear, and authoritative answers to pressing questions, and it does so in the convenient, timesaving, Q&A format for which Tax Facts is famous.
Anyone interested can try Tax Facts on Individuals & Small Business, risk-free for 30 days, with a 100% guarantee of complete satisfaction. For more information, please go to www.nationalunderwriter.com/TaxFactsIndividuals or call 1-800-543-0874.
International Financial Law Prof Blog.
William Byrnes' Tax, Wealth, and Risk Intelligence 