LOS ANGELES, Oct. 28, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Dennis Brager, founder of the Brager Tax Law Group, is offering a free one-hour webinar on FBARs, Voluntary Disclosures and Foreign Accounts to alert tax attorneys, CPAs, Enrolled Agents and their clients to options available to limit the draconian penalties applicable to those who have failed to file FBARs (Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts). The webinar will also highlight recent developments which make it riskier than ever not to file.
"The FBAR form has recently changed and paper filing is no longer acceptable even for those filing old FBARs," says Brager who is a California Tax Specialist and former Senior Tax Attorney with the IRS. "Plus, I've found a lot of misinformation surrounding the programs for coming clean and disclosing offshore accounts."
All U.S. persons who have a financial interest in or signatory authority over foreign financial accounts with total balances over $10,000, at any time during the year, must check the appropriate box on their tax returns. In addition, certain other foreign assets in excess of various reporting thresholds need to be disclosed, and FBARs need to be filed.
"Looming on the horizon is the disclosure by numerous Swiss Banks to the IRS of information which will lead to the identities of Americans with offshore accounts," continues Brager. "The disclosures are being made so that the banks can avoid prosecution by the Department of Justice. It's far better to disclose your foreign bank holdings BEFORE the IRS finds out." The penalties for non-disclosed foreign accounts can be staggering, and jail time is also a risk. The civil penalty for knowingly failing to file an FBAR is the greater of $100,000 or 50 percent of the total foreign account balance. Each year of non-compliance can lead to separate and cumulative penalties.
The one-hour webinar will be held on Tuesday, October 29th at 11:30 AM PT and will focus on:
- Who needs to file a Foreign Bank Account Report (FBAR) and how the rule is different after 2010
- What are the criminal and civil penalties for failing to file an FBAR and why ignorance of the law IS an excuse?
- How to answer your clients' most frequently asked questions about foreign bank accounts
- What is the Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program (OVDP) and its cousins FAQ 17, 18 and the Streamlined Compliance Procedure?
- What are the alternatives to OVDP?
For technical reasons seating is limited. Sign up using the link below.
https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/895540624
Based in Los Angeles with a worldwide client base, the Brager Tax Law Group is a tax litigation and tax controversy law firm, which represents clients with both criminal and civil tax disputes with the IRS, the California Franchise Tax Board (FTB), the State Board of Equalization (SBE) and the Employment Development Department (EDD). All of the firm's tax lawyers were former trial attorneys with the IRS.