Category Archives: International

I’ll Drink to That!

Some tax-related news today from the other side of the pond. In Birmingham, England, two stores have been barred from selling alcohol as they had fake export labels. The report in the Birmingham Mail notes that the shops had over … Continue reading

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IRS Releases New Forms W-8BEN and W-8ECI

The IRS released a new version of Form W-8BEN. The new version should be used by an individual responding to a withholding request from the US. It’s commonly used to note tax treaty benefits. There is a disclaimer on the … Continue reading

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FBAR Changes for 2014

There have been some changes made by by FINCEN (the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network) for the Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR) for 2014. While overall these are minor, they will impact everyone who files an FBAR. First, … Continue reading

Posted in FINCEN, International | 64 Comments

It’s Nice to Know I’m Right, But…

I’ve written on a few occasions about my battles with the IRS over incorrectly assessed Failure to File and Failure to Pay penalties. (See here, here, and here.) As I noted in the last post linked to above, I submitted … Continue reading

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It’s All Greek to Me

In reading through the poker world today, news from Greece pushed to the forefront: The Greek government has implemented an up to 20% “Player Withholding Tax” on online gambling. It doesn’t sound like much, but like everything the devil is … Continue reading

Posted in Gambling, International | Tagged | 1 Comment

The FBAR Has Changed

Tax professionals can now file FBARs (Form TD F 90-22.1) for clients. We have to have our client sign Form 114a authorizing the preparer to efile the FBAR. Today, when I went to file an FBAR for a client, I … Continue reading

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Thigh Injury the Least of Messi’s Problems

Football Soccer star Lionel Messi injured his thigh in yesterday’s game against Almeria (a game his team won, 2-0). Messi will miss two to three weeks with the injury. Meanwhile, Lionel Messi and his father are accused of something more … Continue reading

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Probable IRS Systemic Issue with Individuals Taking the Automatic Two-Month Extension

If you read my previous post, you will see that I mailed in an Appeal today regarding a client who took the automatic two-month extension for being outside of the country on April 15th. To date, an extremely high percentage … Continue reading

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The Law and Regulations vs. IRS Publications

Let’s say that the Tax Code (which is law) said, “Every tax return must be signed in red ink.” If that were the case, we’d all be using red ink to sign returns. The Tax Code is law, passed by … Continue reading

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Foreign Gamblers Get Equal Footing

The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled yesterday that foreign gamblers should be treated similar to US citizens and residents. The issue has to do with a basic idea in gambling: Should gamblers be taxed … Continue reading

Posted in Gambling, International | 1 Comment