Ten Reasons You May Want to Rethink Your Hidden Offshore Account

In light of the new agreement between the Department of Treasury (IRS) and Costa Rica and the Cayman Islands (11/29/2013) concerning disclosure of U.S. Taxpayers Offshore Account, we put together (comedy) ten reasons you may want to rethink your hidden offshore account.

1.          If you didn’t know six months before it happened that the Department of Treasury was planning an Agreement with Costa Rica and the Cayman Islands to disclose assets of U.S. taxpayers then perhaps you may want to re-evaluate your financial consultants
   
   
   2.      If you believed that you could hide hundreds of thousands of dollars, to millions in an offshore bank account with a bank who does business in or with the United States, and therefore didn’t answer yes to Part III on Schedule B of your Form 1040 Tax Return, then you may want to rethink having an offshore bank account.
   
   
   3.      If you don’t have a business with a foreign country address, in which you can claim income from, then perhaps you shouldn’t have an offshore bank account poising as offshore income.
   
   
   4.      If you don’t have an experienced tax attorney with knowledge about U.S. and International tax codes, then perhaps you may want to rethink this whole offshore account thing.
   
   
   
   
   5.      If you have a spouse who may want a divorce in the distant future and already knows about your offshore dealings, which you forgot to report on your U.S. tax returns, then you may want to rethink your offshore bank account.
   
   
   6.      If you are extremely forgetful about large sums of income which you secretly took out of the country $9,999 at a time over the years, then you may want to rethink your offshore account.
   
   
   7.      If you have children who are waiting for you to die, so they can spend all your money, and you decided that hiding your money offshore would be better than it showing up on your tax return, then you may want to rethink how you hide your money.  Offshore may no longer be the best solution if you are doing business with a bank that does business in or with the United States!
   
   
   8.      If you live offshore and you earn offshore and you didn’t bother to file Form 5555 with the IRS, you may want to talk to an International tax professional immediately.
   
   
   9.      If your International bank does business with or in the United States, regardless of where they are located, you may want to review your privacy clause.
   
   
   10.   If you are hiding money from your business partner or shareholders in an offshore account and are doing business with an offshore bank which has to now abide by the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), you may want to do things differently.

Full Disclosure from Cayman Islands and Costa Rica on U.S. Citizens Assets

Press Release from Department of Treasury;  Costa Rica and Cayman Island Agreement http://www.treasury.gov/press-center/press-releases/Pages/jl2226.aspx 

Click here for the IRS page Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act

Understanding Tax Avoidance Which is Seen as a Human Rights Violation

The facilitation of tax avoidance strategies could constitute a violation of international human rights law, according to a new report by the International Bar Association.

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The report, released Tuesday by the London-based organization of international legal practitioners, bar associations and law societies at the IBA’s annual conference in Boston, argues that some tax strategies cross the line into “tax abuses” that may violate internationally accepted norms of human rights. Prepared by the IBA’s Human Rights Institute Task Force, the report contends that the actions of states that encourage or facilitate tax abuses, or that deliberately frustrate the efforts of other states to counter tax abuses, could constitute a violation of their international human rights obligations, particularly with respect to people’s economic, social and cultural rights.

The report, Tax Abuses, Poverty and Human Rights, asserts that tax practices contrary to the letter or spirit of international and domestic tax laws and policies have a significant negative impact on the realization of human rights in developing countries. Profits flowing out of developing countries can thus deprive governments of the resources that they need to alleviate poverty and uphold international human rights standards.

The IBA report draws on case studies from Brazil, the Isle of Jersey and Southern Africa, examining where to draw the line between legitimate tax avoidance maneuvers and immoral tax practices. The report highlights concerns over the “morality” of sophisticated tax planning strategies, in which corporations and wealthy individuals end up paying little or no money in taxes. Among the types of tax behavior seen as potentially abusive are transfer pricing and other cross-border intra-group transactions, the negotiation of tax holidays and incentives, the taxation of natural resources and the use of offshore accounts.

“The fact that sophisticated tax planning strategies are technically legal is no longer a justification for their use,” said Yale University professor Thomas Pogge, who chairs the IBA Human Rights Institute Task Force. “The impact of tax abuses, facilitated by secrecy jurisdictions, on global poverty is tremendous. The international community has not only a legal obligation but also a moral duty to ensure that states use the maximum resources available to fulfill the civil, political, economic and social rights of citizens.”

The report urges states to implement international standards of transparency and information exchange in tax matters, and businesses to undertake due diligence measures and impact assessment of all operations, including tax planning strategies. Lawyers also need to balance their obligations to defend their clients’ interests with their responsibilities to uphold human rights in their practice, including with respect to tax planning strategies, the report argues.

“The legal profession has an important role to play in confronting the negative effects of tax abuses on human rights,” said Sternford Moyo, who co-chairs the IBA Human Rights Institute and is a member of the task force. “Lawyers have a duty to balance their obligation to their client’s interests with their obligations to uphold human rights and the rule of law.”

The report also takes note of the role of accountants, quoting one unnamed expert interviewed by the task force who observed, “Those who siphon funds out of developing countries can and should know that they are thereby actively diminishing funds that go to efforts to reduce poverty. And those who facilitate tax abuse (e.g., tax havens, secrecy jurisdictions, and certain lawyers and accountants) can and should know that their activities likewise take funds away from efforts to reduce poverty.”

This original article can be found at Accounting Today dot Com

To learn more about legal tax avoidance strategies you may want to read the Book; Tax Loopholes, Tax-Free Living & Retirement by C. Ingraham, RTRP

Kindle Free Days; Tax Loopholes Tax-Free Living & Retirement

Download for free the new book:  Tax Loopholes, Tax-Free Living & Retirement in the Kindle Store on Amazon.com.  Free Days:  July 10th to July 14, 2013.

Tax Evasion is illegal. Tax Avoidance is NOT. This book explains in detail what hundreds of thousands of Americans have done, legally, for decades. This book will show you how U.S. taxpayers, combine the Earned Income Exclusion and Offshore Corporation(s), with the IRS’s blessings, to legally lower or eliminate, their U.S. tax liabilities. The book uses easy to understand language and explains the details and the overall picture which allows U.S. taxpayers to use the IRS Form 2555 to legally eliminate their income taxes. The IRS, of course, has the final say on all Form 2555 elections. This book will explain the tax law and the hurdle(s) one must jump to live a tax-free life,in easy, every day language.

Some would say this isn’t honest or fair. You may be correct. However, let’s explore how it’s done before we join millions of citizens in protest over these tax laws.

Believe it or not, there is such a thing as a tax-free retirement, and more and more Americans are taking advantage of these tax loopholes each year. It’s called the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion, FEIE for short. At the time of publishing the maximum exclusion is $97,600 for 2013 for each taxpayer. The amount of the exclusion increases each year based on inflation. (Exclusion means that you pay zero taxes on that amount)

So what is this retirement tax loophole that nobody’s talking about?

The United States taxes all taxpayers on their worldwide income. This is a fact, this is the law. However, taxpayers who live and work OUTSIDE of the United States can possibly qualify for the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion. Before you close your mind to living and or working offshore, take a look at the facts and understand why so many Americans are making the necessary adjustment, to take advantage of this opportunity.

Regardless if you move offshore or stay in the United States, you can use this book to lower your taxes each year and live a tax-free life or a tax-free retirement. Is it ethical? You be the judge.

First you should realize that Form 2555 Election has been going on for years. It wasn’t until millions of Americans experienced a loss in their retirement funds, due to the recent down-turn in the economy, that the FEIE became so important and popular.

Millions of baby-boomers are now at retirement age. For many Americans, their retirement nest-egg, disseminated right before their eyes..............find book here