“Time and the hour run through the roughest day,” wrote William Shakespeare over four centuries ago. Had he lived during our present-day plague, what might he have written? Indeed, 2020 was a very challenging year for everyone. Outside of individual health risks, most businesses were sorely impacted.
Today is one of the most challenging times to be a business owner in recent memory. In order to help business owners and incentivize companies to keep employees on the payroll, the IRS introduced the Employee Retention Credit.
Few entities are as powerful as the IRS and if you’ve received notification that you owe them, it can be very daunting. Even if you aren’t in debt, you may still be wondering what COVID-19 and the policies put into place last summer might mean to taxpayers this year.
For a taxpayer facing a criminal tax sentence the two questions that will resonate in his or her thoughts are: 1) How much will I owe? And, 2) Will I go to jail?
COVID-19 has left millions of Americans asking questions – some of them no more or less complicated than “what do I do now?” To help answer this question and ease the minds of Americans, on March 27, 2020, Congress signed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, also known as the CARES Act.
Often, taxpayers may neglect to comply with the tax code for reasons that have nothing to do with efforts to evade taxes. That is understandable. International tax laws, especially those associated with FBAR, are complicated and confusing.
This is where things can go south quickly, if you knowingly did not file a FBAR. This is known as a willful violation and the sanctions can be severe.
In previous chapters, I have walked you through specific forms you need to file if you have any financial ties to any foreign entities, whether they are business or personal. International transactions are already on the IRS’ radar, so you do not want to do anything to move closer to their bull’s eye.
Here is yet another form you need to file surrounding any foreign accounts or other assets you may own or be associated with. This one deals with foreign corporations. If this speaks to you, keep reading.