


IRS implements new COVID-19 Initiative to Assist Taxpayers
IRS temporarily adjusts and suspends key compliance programs to help people facing the challenges of COVID-19 issues.

Renouncing US Citizenship and US Tax Obligations
Giving up your U.S. citizenship is considered a taxable event, i.e. the IRS treats the date of the renunciation (or technically, the date before the renunciation) of the citizenship as a date of the virtual sale of the assets at a market price.

Israeli Bank Mizrahi-Tefahot Admits to Helping US Taxpayers Conceal Income and Assets; Agrees to Pay $195 Million to U.S.
Israeli Bank Mizrahi-Tefahot Admits to Helping US Taxpayers Conceal Income and Assets; Agrees to Pay $195 Million to U.S.

Taxpayers Can Still Make Voluntary Disclosures for Offshore Accounts
On November 20, 2018, the IRS issued a Memorandum, describing the process for all voluntary disclosures following the closing of the 2014 OVDP on September 28, 2018. The new procedures are effective for all disclosures after September 28, 2018. Under the new procedures, the taxpayers with hidden foreign bank accounts, whose behavior may be considered willful, will find stricter requirements and higher penalties.

Think the Criminal Statute of Limitations for Failure to Report Foreign Bank Accounts Has Expired? Think Again.
In general, the United States has five years to start criminal proceedings in a criminal case (either through an indictment or information). 18 U.S.C. § 3282. However, there are several statutes that could suspend or extend this five-year period, and an individual might not even know if the statute of limitations has been extended.