The IRS released modified versions of draft Form W-8BEN, Certificate of Foreign Status of Beneficial Owner for United States Tax Withholding, for individuals and entities. The draft Form, now divided into W-8BEN and W-8BEN-E, is a pre-release, but as expected, it indicates changes to come for foreign financial institutions and withholding agents. The new form…
Read more
US clients turned away by Singapore Banks due to onerous US tax laws
SINGAPORE - Go away, American millionaires That is what some of the world's largest wealth-management firms are saying ahead of Washington's implementation of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, which seeks to prevent tax evasion by Americans with offshore accounts. HSBC, Deutsche Bank, Bank of Singapore and DBS all say they have turned away business.…
Read more
Tax Delinquents May Have Passports Canceled & Be Questioned at Air & Sea Ports
Almost unnoticed, Congress is close to approving a law under which the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) will be able to revoke the passports of Americans who owe substantial unpaid taxes. It would allow federal officials to revoke or deny passports to delinquent taxpayers who owe the Internal Revenue Service $50,000 or more. The provision passed…
Read more
Fast Track Settlement – A Process for Prompt Resolution of Large Business and International Tax Issues
IRS has recently released Publication 4539, which provides taxpayers with an overview of the Fast Track Settlement (FTS) process. The pub includes information on who can use FTS, advantages to its use, and how a taxpayer can start the FTS process. Corporate taxpayers under examination by IRS's Large Business and International Division (LB&I) can get…
Read more
