Tuesday, February 09, 2010

 

         

       

 

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Year-end tax planning alert
Wednesday, November 25, 2009 (151 reads)


“The legal right of a taxpayer to decrease the amount of what otherwise would be his taxes, or altogether avoid them, by means which the law permits, cannot be doubted.” So affirmed the US Supreme Court in Gregory v Helvering, 293 U.S. 465 (1935).  Despite many attempts by administrations of both parties over the intervening 75 years to characterize efforts of taxpayers to minimize their liability to the US Treasury as either unpatriotic at the least or criminal at worst, the rule of law still holds.  Tax evasion is illegal, and efforts to conceal assets and refuse to file returns and pay legally due taxes will result in fines, penalties and sometimes incarceration.  However, tax avoidance is simply using the existing rules to minimize the contribution to the tax collector and it is proper and appropriate behavior, long supported by the courts.



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Tax evasion– who is the target?
Monday, November 23, 2009 (162 reads)


US Justice and Treasury Departments are making public announcements regarding their successful penetration of the Swiss banking secrecy laws. The IRS Commissioner, Douglas Shulman held a news conference in Washington, DC 17 Nov 09 to proclaim their “offshore disclosure initiative” a big success.  

 

The Justice Department has projected that “tens of millions of dollars” in taxes will be collected by the US Treasury as a result.  The IRS Commissioner declined to predict or reveal how the government arrived at these projected figures.

 

However, there are some insights available that can be derived from the US-Swiss agreement that shed light on both who they are targeting and what finacila levels attract their attention.




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A primer on trusts
Thursday, August 27, 2009 (329 reads)


Be sure you get competent legal and accounting advice before you set up the typical arrangements to buy that property you fell in love with in some tropical paradise.  Everyone’s facts and circumstances are slightly different, and you need someone who can look at the specifics and provide professional advice.

 

Many exPats have formed Panamanian Private Interest Foundations (PIF) to hold title to their Panama investment entities.   Most investors who purchase property in Panamá follow the common practice to hold title to the real estate in an SA.  There is nothing unsavory or illegal about doing  that. There are however a couple of “gotch-ya’s” if you are not careful.

 

So what are the risks?



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