G-20 Stamps Out Tax Havens

The fallout from the recent tax evasion settlement with UBS is reverberating throughout the G-20 community.  As we reported back in October,  the French Governments action directing banks to close branches and subsidiaries in non-OEDC compliant jurisdictions will pressure all G-20 participants to adopt a more uniform tax code and enforcement practice.  The drive to strengthen the respect of tax treaties and the closure of havens to custody assets beyond the reach of national tax authorities signals a new era in multinational cooperation and the eclipse of radical free market tax practices.

The principal drivers for this unprecedented level of cooperation and standardization is the dire need for national tax authorities to recognize and tax revenue streams to help address the burgeoning budget deficits the global economic crisis has has wrought.

Clearly the crackdown on tax evasion is gaining momentum since the global financial crisis has devastated national treasuries.  Enormous expenditures on stimulus programs and dramatically falling tax receipts has created a perfect storm and has created an enormous threat to the fiscal soundness of national treasuries.

Forbes reports that Singapore has become the latest in a flurry of jurisdictions complying with Office of Economic Cooperation and Development standards on transparency and exchange of information for tax purposes.  Fifteen jurisdictions have come into compliance since April 2009.  In addition to Singapore and the sea change occurring in the Suisse banking industry; other  governments that have lost revenue to tax havens are individually taking tough action:

–The U.K. government has informed the Isle of Man that it will reduce revenue transfers of value-added tax receipts to the island by 50 million pounds next year, 9% of the island’s revenue.

–French banks are starting to close down their operations in tax havens.

–In Germany, the hiding of funds in Liechtenstein bank accounts has prompted a backlash against tax havens.

–In the United States, White House advisor Paul Volcker in December is due to report on ways of eliminating revenue losses to tax havens.

This heightened regulation and standardization amongst  G-20 tax authorities is quickly closing any regulatory tax arbitrage opportunities for global investors.  The closure of preferential tax domiciles will heighten the power and reach of national tax agencies enforcement capabilities and the scope of their examination reach.  The IRS is stepping up its enforcement and institutional assets to assure that private equity and hedge fund industries comply with all the anti-money laundering laws and stringent tax codes.

Sum2’s IARP helps investment managers assess and manage the growing threat of audit and tax enforcement risk.  Sum2’s CARP helps large and mid-size corporations assess compliance and manage  IFI audit risk.

Risk: audit, enforcement, regulatory, tax, reputational, litigation

Survey Says: Corporate Tax Audits on the Rise

A recent survey published by Sabrix indicates that corporate tax audits are on the rise.   Eighty-three percent of companies surveyed report an increased number of audits due to state and local tax revenue shortfalls.  Survey respondents comprised 140 tax executives from the Forbes Global 2000 Index.

Ninety-six percent of the attendees said that despite the recession, transaction taxes such as sales and use taxes will continue to be an area of focus. In response to the economic downturn, 45 percent of the attendees said their companies had reduced their employee headcount, but 45 percent also increased their investment in tax technologies.

Eighty-one percent of the respondents have made sales and use tax and value-added tax a more strategic focus of their company due to the economy. A similar proportion said they have implemented new programs and processes to remain compliant.

The IRS is under pressure to enforce compliance with federal tax statutes.  The US Treasury coffers are seriously depleted given all the stimulus and economic recovery expenditures.  The IRS is mandated to assure that corporations comply with all tax laws.  The IRS has developed an Industry Focus Issue, (IFI) audit strategy that  profiles high risk corporate tax compliance statutes.   IFI guides field audit personnel through a risk based assessment of corporate tax compliance.  The IFI aggregates and ranks  Three Tiers of high risk tax compliance issues.  Examiners will conduct rigorous reviews of these issue sensitive factors.  The factors concern revenue recognition, sales tax, partnership reporting, and the repatriation of revenue derived in foreign domiciles.

Sum2 has published a product, IRS Audit Risk Program (IARP) that guides corporate tax managers and tax professionals through a risk assessment of their exposure to IFI risk factors.  The IARP helps corporate tax professionals score tax risk exposures, determine mitigation actions, estimate remediation expenses and manage tax controversy defense strategies.  The IARP is available for purchase on Amazon.com.

Sum2 also has developed the Corporate Audit Risk Program (CARP).  The CARP is IRS tax risk assessment tool for corporate tax managers.  A  single user license for CARP can be purchased on Amazon.com.

Risk: compliance, tax audit, reputation, litigation

You Tube video: Stevie Ray Vaughan, Taxman

G-20 Fallout: French Banks Exit Tax Havens

An official at the French Banking Federation announced that French banks plan to close shut branches and subsidiaries in countries considered tax havens. France’s banks intend to halt business activities in countries that remain on the OECD’s so-called “gray list” at the end of March 2010.

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development advocates regulatory standards for global banking industry. It tracks countries that do not comply with the basic regulatory guidelines and publishes a “gray list” of countries that do not comply with international tax information exchange rules.

All French Banks will comply with this action. BNP Paribas earlier announced it will stop operating in countries considered tax havens after the bank indicated that it would close branches in Panama and the Bahamas.

Global hedge funds that operate in OECD non-compliant jurisdictions have an increased tax risk profile.  Tax professionals need to assess the potential benefits derived from continued operations in these high risk domiciles with the rising compliance and tax risk factors these jurisdictions pose.

Sum2’s IRS Audit Risk Program (IARP)  helps tax professionals and compliance managers determine and score risk exposures of investment partnerships IRS Industry Focus Issues.

Click for more information on IARP.

Risk: compliance, regulatory, tax audit, reputation

Perp Walks Begin: UBS Client Pleads Guilty

Forbes digital news service reports that a  New Jersey client of the international banking giant UBS has pleaded guilty to concealing more than $6 million in assets in Swiss bank accounts.   Juergen Homann of Saddle River is the fifth US client of UBS to plead guilty in an ongoing federal investigation into the bank’s practices.  UBS officials have admitted helping wealthy American clients use foreign accounts to hide assets from the IRS.

Homann, 66, is a German-born U.S. citizen runs an industrial mineral and chemical trading company that does business mainly between China and Latin America.  Prosecutors say Homman established an account with UBS in the late 1980’s in the name of a Liechtenstein foundation. Under the advice of Swiss lawyer Matthias Rickenbach, prosecutors say Homann transferred his assets to a Hong Kong corporation to hide assets from the IRS.  Rickenbach was indicted for fraud in August for his alleged role in helping wealthy clients conceal their assets.

Under terms of the plea agreement, Homann pleaded guilty to one count information for purposely failing to report his foreign accounts. He acknowledged in a Newark federal courtroom Friday that in addition to not filing the required disclosure forms, he failed to report the account on his individual tax return and failed to report income earned on the account.  Homann faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a fine that could potentially reach several million dollars.

UBS has entered into an agreement with the authorities to divulge names of some 4,450 wealthy Americans suspected of evading taxes through secret bank accounts.

Michael Ben’Ary, a trial attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice’s tax division, said Homann’s guilty plea is part of a wider multi-agency investigation that is continuing in New Jersey and nationally.

UBS clients Steven Michael Rubinstein of Boca Raton, Fla., Robert Moran of Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. and Jeffrey Chernick of Stanfordville, N.Y. have all pleaded guilty to filing a false tax return as part of the case. UBS client John McCarthy of Malibu, Calif., has pleaded guilty for failing to report his ownership of and interest in a foreign financial account.

“The IRS is serious about pursuing people with hidden offshore accounts, and we are stepping up our international efforts,” IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman said in a statement. “People should make sure they meet their filing requirements. Failure to do so can carry serious consequences.”

Sum2 publishes the Corporate Audit Risk Program (CARP).  The CARP helps corporate entities that utilize offshore structures and investment partnerships assess their risk exposures to IRS Industry Focus Issues.  The CARP is a vital tool to uncover and mitigate costly exposures to IRS tax audit risk.

Order your CARP here.

Risk: tax, compliance, penalties, reputation, litigation

UBS to Clients, “You’re on the List!”

 

Swiss banking giant UBS, announced that it will inform American clients whether information about their bank accounts will be turned over to the US Justice Department in a tax evasion investigation.  UBS is required to disclose information on over 4,300 American citizens who are clients of the firms private banking division.  The US Justice Department believes that wealthy Americans are using these accounts to conceal assets and are using the bank to hide money under the protection of Switzerland’s storied bank secrecy laws.

UBS has so far refused to name the individuals in public. U.S. authorities, meanwhile, have hoped that the identities of the individuals on the list would be kept secret for longer so that more Americans with undeclared assets abroad might come forward under a recently extended tax amnesty program.

According to a bank  spokesperson,  “UBS is currently examining which client relationships fulfill the government’s criteria of ‘tax fraud.”  The review may take some months but UBS is committed to informing clients that they are affected by the tax evasion investigation.  UBS has already informed 500 clients that they are the subject of an investigation by the US Justice Department.

The IRS on Monday said it would extend its deadline for an amnesty program that has been flooded with applications from people who hid assets overseas. The program promises no jail time and reduced penalties for tax dodgers who come forward.

The financial services industry can expect these types of investigations to become more commonplace.  Institutions that offer hedge funds and investment products that cater to High Net Worth investors will increasingly become  subject to greater scrutiny as the US Treasury Department and its enforcement arm the IRS moves to insure that compliance with tax laws and statutes are adhered too.

This resolution signifies that the IRS is serious about its intention to ramp up enforcement of the tax code.  The IRS has enhanced its focus on US citizens and corporations utilizing foreign banks and offshore investment vehicles.  The agency is concerned that investment products and financial services offered by foreign banks have enabled US citizens and corporations to avoid tax liabilities.  Products such as credit cards, hedge funds and other investment partnerships are coming under the exacting microscope of the IRS.

The IRS is under pressure to enforce compliance with federal tax statutes.  The US Treasury coffers are seriously depleted  and the IRS is is looking to assure all taxable revenue streams are identified and taxpayers pay taxes on all capital gains and income.  The IRS has developed an Industry Focus Issue, (IFI) audit strategy.  IFI’s provides IRS field auditors tax risk profiles of investment partnerships and other corporate entities that use offshore domiciles to harbor assets.  IFI guides field audit personnel through a risk based assessment of investment partnerships.  The IFI aggregates and ranks  Three Tiers of high risk tax compliance issues.  Examiners will conduct rigorous reviews of these issue sensitive factors.  Many of the factors concern the recognition of income and assets in custody outside of the US and repatriation of revenue derived in foreign domiciles.

Sum2 has published a product, IRS Audit Risk Program (IARP) that guides corporate tax managers and tax professionals through a risk assessment of their exposure to IFI risk factors.  The IARP is a strategic tool that corporate tax professionals utilize to score risk exposures, determine mitigation actions, estimate remediation expenses and manage tax controversy defense strategies.  The IARP is available for purchase on Amazon.com.

You Tube Video: O’Jays, For the Love of Money

Risk: tax evasion, compliance, reputation, prison

IRS Extends Amnesty Program

The IRS is extending the deadline for international tax dodgers to apply for an amnesty program.  To date more than 3,000 Americans hiding assets overseas have applied for the program.  The program offers no jail time and reduced penalties for tax cheats who come forward.

The Internal Revenue Service is expected to announce that the program will be extended until Oct. 15.  The IRS has a long standing policy that permits tax evaders who come forward before they are contacted by the agency will usually avoid jail time.  Provided that they agree to pay back taxes, interest and hefty penalties.  Drug dealers and money launderers are exempted from this policy but if the money was earned legally, tax evaders can avoid criminal prosecution.  Approximately 100 people apply for the program in a typical year because the penalties can far exceed the value of the hidden account.

In March, the IRS began a six-month amnesty program that sweetened the offer with reduced penalties for people with undeclared assets.  The amnesty program is part of a larger effort by federal authorities to crack down on international tax evaders.  In August, the U.S. and Switzerland resolved a court case in which Swiss banking giant UBS agreed to turn over details on 4,450 accounts suspected of holding undeclared assets from American customers.

The process of turning over that information is expected to take several months. But once the IRS obtains information about international tax dodgers, they will be ineligible for the amnesty program.  Publicity from the UBS case, even before the agreement was announced, had many wealthy Americans with offshore accounts nervously running to their tax advisers.   Lawyers and advisers from several firms have said they were swamped with calls from people hiding assets overseas.  attorneys are advising their clients to take advantage of the IRS Amnesty program and to contact the IRS before they contact you.

Hedge funds and other investment partnerships need to enhance risk management practices to mitigate rising tax risk.  Sum2 publishes the IRS Audit Risk Program  (IARP) to assist investment partnerships and corporate entities  that utilize offshore SIVs to assess audit tax risk factors and take steps to manage this significant business threat.  The IRS has developed an audit risk profile that guides field examiners through an assessment of an investment partnerships tax audit risk factors.  The IARP helps tax managers assess threats and more effectively prepare and manage tax  audit risk exposures within the focus of IRS examiners.

Risk: audit, tax, regulatory, compliance, reputation

The Tax Man Cometh

The IRS has reached agreement with UBS over disclosure of the identity of US citizens holding private bank accounts with the firm in Switzerland.  The agreement calls for UBS to release the names of 4,450 clients who are suspected of using the bank to hide assets and avoid taxation.   UBS has private banking relationships with with over 52,000 US citizens with assets approximating $15 billion.

Private banking is an important pillar of the Suisse economy.  This action may pose a significant threat to the Suisee banking industry.   Compliance with the IRS request for the names of private bank account holders  damages the venerated wall of secrecy Suisse banks employ to attract assets and clientele.  Other EU banking centers like Luxembourg and Liechtenstein may also feel pressure to comply with news standards of transparency and disclosure.  This may have the effect of driving investors to seek more exotic havens to park assets.  Offshore domiciles in the  Indian Ocean, Southeast Asia and Latin America may benefit from this action.  It may also add to the risk of investors seeking safe havens for their assets.

For US taxpayers, the resolution signifies that the IRS is serious about its intention to ramp up enforcement of the tax code.  The IRS has enhanced its focus on US citizens and corporations utilizing foreign banks and offshore investment vehicles.  The agency is concerned that investment products and financial services offered by foreign banks have enabled US citizens and corporations to avoid tax liabilities.  Products such as credit cards, hedge funds and other investment partnerships are coming under the exacting microscope of the IRS.

The IRS is under pressure to enforce compliance with federal tax statutes.  The US Treasury coffers are seriously depleted given all the stimulus and economic recovery expenditures.  The IRS is mandated to assure that compliance is adhered to so taxpayers pay taxes on all legal capital gains and income.  As this blog reported, the IRS has developed an Industry Focus Issue, (IFI) audit strategy that  profiles investment partnerships and other corporations that use offshore domiciles to harbor assets.  IFI guides field audit personnel through a risk based assessment of investment partnerships.  The IFI aggregates and ranks  Three Tiers of high risk tax compliance issues.  Examiners will conduct rigorous reviews of these issue sensitive factors.  Many of the factors concern the recognition of income and assets in custody outside of the US and repatriation of revenue derived in foreign domiciles.

Sum2 has published a product, IRS Audit Risk Program (IARP) that guides corporate tax managers and tax professionals through a risk assessment of their exposure to IFI risk factors.  The IARP is a strategic tool that corporate tax professionals utilize to score risk exposures, determine mitigation actions, estimate remediation expenses and manage tax controversy defense strategies.  The IARP is available for purchase on Amazon.com.

The IRS action against UBS is the opening salvo in the new era of enhanced compliance.  UBS is a marquee brand that indicates that the IRS is serious about compliance. As a result of the UBS settlement other Suisse banks are coming forward to make voluntary disclosures about US citizens suspected of tax-evasion.  Those bank  include, Credit Suisse, Julius Baer Holding, Zurcher Kantonalbank and Union Bancaire Privee.  UBS has  previously turned over approximately 250 names to the IRS.  It is believed that the IRS has issued indictments to 150 people from that list of names.

This high profiled action against UBS has helped to publicize the IRS amnesty program that expires September 23rd.  In an effort to encourage Americans to voluntarily disclose information about  accounts they illegally withheld, the IRS created an amnesty program. Under the amnesty program, any taxpayer who successfully completes the requirements will not be criminally prosecuted for their acts.  More details on the IRS amnesty program can be found here on the FIND LAW website.

Risk: tax, reputation, compliance,

IRS Audit Risk Survey: Final Results

Sum2 is please to report the final results of the IRS Audit Risk Survey for Fund Managers. Sum2 has commissioned the survey to determine financial services industry awareness and readiness for IRS audit risk factors. The survey sought to determine industry awareness and readiness to address IRS Industry Focus Issue (IFI) risk exposures for hedge funds, private equity firms, RIAs, CTAs and corporations using offshore structures.

Survey Background

Due to the pressing revenue requirements of the United States Treasury and the need to raise funds by recognizing new sources of taxable revenue; hedge funds, private equity firms, CTA’s and other corporations that utilize elaborate corporate structures, engage in sophisticated transactions and recognize uncommon forms of revenue, losses and tax credits will increasingly fall under the considered focus of the IRS.

Since 2007 the IRS began to transition its organizational posture from a benign customer service resource to a more activist posture that is intent on assuring compliance and enforcement of US tax laws. Specifically the IRS has invested in its Large and Mid-Size Business Division (LMSB) to enhance its expertise and resources to more effectively address the tax audit challenges that the complexity and sophistication of investment management complexes present. The IRS has developed its industry issue competencies within its LMSB Division. It has developed a focused organizational structure that assigns issue ownership to specific executives and issue management teams. This vertical expertise is further enhanced with issue specialists to deepen the agencies competency capital and industry issue coordinators that lends administrative and agency management efficiency by ranking and coordinating responses to specific industry issues. IRS is building up its portfolio of skills and industry expertise to address the sophisticated agility of hedge fund industry tax professionals.

To better focus the resources of the agency the IRS has developed a Three Tiered Industry Focus Issues (IFI). Tier I issues are deemed most worthy of in depth examinations and any fund management company with exposure in these areas need to exercise more diligence in its preparation and response. Tier I issues are ranked by the IRS as being of high strategic importance when opening an audit examination. This is followed by Tier II and Tier III focus issues that include examination issues ranked according to strategic tax compliance risk and significance to the market vertical. Clearly the IRS is investing significant organizational and human capital to address complex tax issues of the industry. The IRS is making a significant institutional investment to discover potentially lucrative tax revenue streams that will help to address the massive budget deficits of the federal government.

Survey Results

The survey was open to fund management executives, corporate treasury, tax managers and industry service providers. CPAs, tax attorneys, compliance professionals, administrators, custodians and prime brokers were also invited to participate in the study. The survey was viewed by 478 people. The survey was completed by 43% of participants who began the survey.

Geographical breakdown of the survey participants were as follows:

• North America 73%
• Europe 21%
• Asia 6%

The survey asked nine questions. The questions asked participants about their awareness of IFI that pertain to their fund or fund management practice and potential mitigation actions that they are considering to address audit risk.

The survey posed the following questions:

• Are you aware of the Industry Focus Issues (IFI) the IRS has developed to determine a fund managers audit risk profile?
• Are you aware of the organizational changes the IRS has made and how it may effect your firms response during an audit?
• Are you aware of the Three IFI Tiers the IRS has developed to assess a funds audit risk profile?
• Are you aware of how the Three IFI Tiers may affect your audit risk exposures?
• Have you conducted any special planning sessions with internal staff to prepare for IFI audit risk exposures?
• Has your outside auditor or tax attorney notified you of the potential impact of IFI risk?
• Have you held any special planning meetings with your outside auditors or tax attorneys to mitigate IFI risk?
• Have you had meetings with your prime brokers, custodians and administrators to address the information requirements of IFI risk?
• Have you or do you plan to communicate the potential impact of IFI risk exposures to fund partners and investors?

Survey highlights included:

• 21% of survey participants were aware of IFI
• 7% of survey respondents planned to implement specific strategies to address IFI audit risk
• 6% of survey respondents have received action alerts from CPA’s and tax attorney’s concerning IFI audit risk
• 26% of survey respondents plan to alert fund investors to potential impact of IFI audit risk

Recommendations

Sum2 believes that survey results indicate extremely low awareness of IFI audit risk. Considering the recent trauma of the credit crisis, sensational fraud events and the devastating impact of last years adverse market conditions; fund managers and industry service providers must remain vigilant to mitigate this emerging risk factor.

These market developments and the prevailing political climate surrounding the financial services sector will bring the industry under heightened scrutiny by tax authorities and regulatory agencies. Unregulated hedge funds may be immune from some regulatory issues but added compliance and disclosure discipline may be imposed by significant counter-parties, such as prime brokers and custodians that are regulated institutions.

Market and regulatory developments has clearly raised the tax compliance and regulatory risk factors for hedge funds and other fund managers. Issues concerning FAS 157 security valuation, partnership domiciles and structure, fund liquidation and restructuring and complex transactions has increased the audit risk profile for the industry. Significant tax liabilities, penalties and expenses can be incurred if this risk factor is not met with a well considered risk management program.

In response to this industry threat, Sum2 has developed an IRS Audit Risk Program (IARP) that prepares fund management CFOs and industry service tax professionals to ascertain, manage and mitigate its IRS risk exposures within the Three IFI Tiers. The IARP provides a threat scoring methodology to ascertain risk levels for each IFI risk factor and aggregates overall IFI Tier exposures. The IARP uses a scoring methodology to determine level of preparedness to meet each of the 36 audit risk factors.

The IARP helps managers to outline mitigation actions required to address audit risk factors and determine potential exposures of each risk. The IARP calculates expenses associated with mitigation initiatives and assigns mitigation responsibility to staff members or service providers. The IARP links users to issue specific IRS resources, forms and documentation that will help you determine an IFI risk relevancy and the resources you need to address it.

The IARP will prove a valuable resource to help you manage your response to a tax audit. It will also prove itself to be a critical tool to coordinate and align internal and external resources to expeditiously manage and close protracted audit engagements, arbitration or litigation events. The IARP product is a vertical application of Sum2’s Profit|Optimizer product series.

The Profit|Optimizer is a C Level risk management tool that assists managers to uncover and mitigate business threats and spot opportunities to maintain profitability and sustainable growth.

The IARP product is available for down load on Amazon.com.

The product can also be purchased with a PayPal account: Sum2 e-commerce

Sum2 wishes to thank all who anonymously took part in the survey.

If you have any questions or would like to order an IARP please contact Sum2, LLC at 973.287.7535 or by email at customer.service@sum2.com.