Blog

• 05.26.2021

  IRS Audit Campaign: Puerto Rico Act 22 In late 2020, the Large Business and International Division of the United States Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”) updated its list of active examination campaigns by adding taxpayers who have claimed benefits through Act 22 in Puerto Rico. The aim of …
• 07.28.2017

  Focus on Brazil: Agreements to Exchange Information and the Use of the United States and its Territories for Tax Planning, Privacy, and Asset Protection By José Dumont Neto, Esq.1 1.  SCOPE: This article demonstrates that Brazilians with legitimate intentions to legally avoid reporting under both the U.S. Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (“FATCA”), and the Common Reporting Standards (“CRS”) promulgated …
• 01.04.2017

  The Trademark Application Process in the United States By Maria Tzokova, Esq., Counsel Solomon Blum Heymann LLP New York, NY and St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands Introduction Manufacturers and service providers who wish to protect the brand names and symbols which distinguish their goods or services from those …
• 10.10.2016

  US Virgin Islands Company Brief – Limited Liability Entities By William L. Blum, Esq. The U.S. Virgin Islands offers a number of different limited liability entities including the corporation, the limited liability company (LLC), the limited liability partnership (LLP), and the limited liability limited partnership …
• 03.10.2016

  New IRS Regulations on Reporting Obligations of Foreign Financial Assets by Domestic Entities By Luca Cantelli, Esq. On February 23, 2016, the Treasury Department published the final regulations for reporting of foreign financial assets by domestic entities. As part of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), individual taxpayers and …
• 01.29.2016

  What Borrowers Need to Know About New Mortgage Disclosure Rules By Irina Shteynberg The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) recently issued a new mortgage disclosure rule that combines mortgage disclosures established by the Truth-in-Lending Act (“TILA”) and the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act …
• 01.14.2016

  FinCEN Targets Money Laundering in Luxury Real Estate Transactions By:  Michael J. Semack, Esq. U.S. Department of Treasury Crack Down on Large Cash Real Estate Purchases in Manhattan and Miami by Shell Corporations or Other Entities In its continuing efforts to curtail money laundering activities, the U.S. Department of …
• 12.24.2015

  U.S. Passport Revocation May Be Triggered By Tax Debt EFFECTIVE JANUARY 1, 2016 By: Luca Cantelli, Esq. and Robert Ladislaw, Esq. On December 4, President Obama signed a highway funding bill that authorizes the U.S. Secretary of State to revoke or deny the U.S. passports of taxpayers who owe more than …
• 12.24.2015

  Foreign Retirement Plan Exemption from FIRPTA By Robert A. Ladislaw, Esq. FIRPTA Exemption for Foreign Retirement Funds/Increase in FIRPTA Withholding Rates Real property interests held by foreign retirement or foreign pension funds are now exempt from FIRPTA, effective for dispositions and …
• 09.04.2015

  For Many Taxpayers Treasury’s Proposed Easing Of The Territorial Durational Residency Rules Is Only About Half As Generous As It Appears By William L. Blum, Esq. and Erika Kellerhals, Esq. After nearly 20 years of waiting after Congress directed the Treasury Department to promulgate residency rules for the U.S. territories in the Tax Reform Act of 1986, in 2005 the IRS finally promulgated …
• 08.31.2015

  New IRS Notice Targets Offshore Transfers of Property to Partnerships By Robert A. Ladislaw, Esq. Transfers of appreciated property to any foreign or domestic entity that qualifies as a partnership for U.S. tax purposes are generally tax free. See IRC § 721(a). However, the Treasury Department and the IRS have broad …
• 08.27.2015

  OVDP UPDATE: Over 40 Banks Now Identified by the IRS as “Cooperating” By Robert A. Ladislaw, Esq. U.S. taxpayers with undisclosed assets offshore may enter the Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program (the “OVDP”) being administered by the Internal Revenue Service. Among other penalties and interest on unpaid income tax, …
• 08.25.2015

  Foreign Bank Account Report (FBAR) Due Date Changed – Effective for Tax Year 2016 Filing Extensions Also To Be Permitted By Luca Cantelli, Esq. On July 31, President Obama signed a three-month highway funding extension bill called “The Surface Transportation and Veterans Health Care Choice Improvement Act of 2015” (H.R. 3236, Pub.L. …
• 06.01.2015

  UPDATE: U.S. Persons Owning Foreign Company Shares Must File Form BE-10A by June 30 or Face Stiff Penalties By Robert A. Ladislaw, Esq. The Bureau of Economic Analysis of the U.S. Department of Commerce (“BEA”) conducts the Benchmark Survey of Direct Investment Abroad every five years. Form BE-10A must be completed and filed by U.S. persons, including …
• 05.20.2015

  UPDATE: Passport Revocation for Unpaid Taxes Passes the Senate By Robert A. Ladislaw, Esq. On May 14, 2015, the Trade Facilitation and Enforcement Act, introduced by Senator Orrin Hatch, passed the Senate by a vote of 78-20. If signed into law, this bill would add new IRC § 7435 providing for the revocation of …
• 04.10.2015

  U.S. Tax Court Says USVI Residency Claim Must be Supported By Evidence   By William L. Blum, Esq. The U.S. Tax Court has been busy lately deciding U.S. Virgin Islands residency cases.  Three cases involving an almost identical issue have been decided or are expected to be decided soon.  The issue is whether a taxpayer who …
• 04.09.2015

  Swiss Bank BSI Account Holders Now Subject to 50% Penalty for Undisclosed Offshore Assets By Robert A. Ladislaw, Esq. Background of the Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program U.S. taxpayers with undisclosed assets offshore may enter the Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program (the “OVDP”) being administered by the Internal Revenue Service.  …
• 04.06.2015

  UPDATE: Information Sharing – FATCA, FBARs and the Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program  By Robert Ladislaw & William Blum We have previously written about how non-U.S. banks are collecting information from their U.S. customers, information which will be shared with the Internal Revenue Service.  This is pursuant to Intergovernmental …
• 02.06.2015

  Rumors of Puerto Rico Act 22 Demise Put to Bed by Secretary of Economic Development By William L. Blum Subsequent to the October, 2014 issuance of a report commissioned by Puerto Rico’s Governor Alejandro Garcia Padilla that analyzed the U.S. Commonwealth’s tax system, rumors swirled that the benefits of Puerto Rico’s unique income tax …
• 02.05.2015

  UPDATE: IRS Offshore Streamlined Filing Procedures and OVDP By Robert A. Ladislaw, Esq. Updated Forms for Offshore Streamlined Filing Compliance Procedures – January, 2015 The IRS has recently issued updated certification forms in connection with its Offshore Streamlined Filing Compliance Procedures (the …
• 01.30.2015

  Tax Court Decides for USVI Taxpayer where Residency Claim was Disputed by IRS By William Blum On January 29, 2015, the United States Tax Court, in Estate of Sanders v. Commissioner (Docket No. 4614-11, 144 T.C. 5) sided with a taxpayer who argued that because he filed his return with the USVI as a bona fide resident, the statute of …
• 01.14.2015

  ALERT: Non-U.S. banks are now collecting data from U.S. customers pursuant to FATCA. U.S. persons with undeclared foreign accounts should become U.S. tax compliant as soon as possible. By Robert A. Ladislaw, Esq. If you are a U.S. citizen or a U.S. Green Card holder (a “U.S. Person”) with unreported foreign financial assets or income, you should take steps to get into U.S. tax compliance as soon as possible. Pursuant to the Foreign …
• 01.13.2015

  Potential Trap for the Unwary: Form 8898 is Due Soon – A Special IRS Information Filing for Taxpayers Who Relocated to Puerto Rico or U.S. Virgin Islands in 2014 By William L. Blum Did you take the plunge and relocate to Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands or one of the other U.S. territories in 2014? Perhaps to take advantage of PR’s Act 20 or Act 22, or the USVI’s EDC (Economic Development Commission) tax …
• 01.01.2014

  FATCA and the IRS Voluntary Offshore Disclosure Program: What to Do Now to Mitigate Negative Effects The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (“FATCA”) was enacted into U.S. law in 2010. The purpose of the law is clear – to encourage increased tax compliance for U.S. persons (citizens, green card holders, and other resident aliens) holding undeclared …

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