The Internal Revenue Service has made progress with its ongoing battle against international tax evasion. The IRS recently completed the Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Initiative (OVDI) program, giving U.S. taxpayers holding undisclosed assets or income offshore, a second chance to get compliant with the U.S. tax system to avoid potential criminal charges.
The IRS conducted the same program in 2009 and collected a total of $2.2 billion. It led to about 15,000 voluntary disclosures and another 3,000 applicants who came in after the deadline, but were allowed to participate in the 2011 initiative. Between the two programs there has been a total of $2.7 billion collected.
IRS commissioner Doug Shulman explained that his goal all along was to get people back to the U.S. tax system; not only that but to bring revenue into the U.S. Treasury.
There are large amounts of fines and imprisonment if found guilty of tax evasion. Americans need to understand that if they try to hide assets overseas, the chances of being caught continue to increase. Do you have any financial investments abroad? If so, please contact us to discuss any necessary filing requirements.
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