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URL and to post comments: http://dollarvigilante.com/blog/2014/12/30/the-latest-fatca-propaganda-atrocities.html
Tuesday,December 30, 2014
[The following post is written by Director of TDV Offshore, Paul Seymour]
It’s been a while since the whole FATCA charade has annoyed me enough to spend more time writing about it, but recently, a series of events have finally caused me to return to this sordid subject.
First, about a month ago, An article titled Offshore Voluntary Disclosures: To Certify or Not to Certify popped up, making some more outrageous statements, and starting with the usual threats—“Taxpayers with undisclosed foreign assets face an even greater risk of detection than ever before”. Obviously trying to lend further credence to the US government propaganda campaign that all US citizens who prudently shift assets from behind the curtain in order to evade illegal IRS/FBI/DHS/ICE/DEA confiscation without due process, and get out of the soon-to-nosedive dollar, must be criminals trying to evade taxes.
IRS CREDIBILITY?
We’re informed that the new IRS 2014 Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program is now underway, and is designed for those who have failed to “submit required information returns due to willful conduct and who seek assurances that they will not be subject to criminal liability and/or substantial monetary penalties”. Hilarious, actually, considering the past egregious lies told by this law-breaking and unaccountable body, which can’t really expect to hold any credibility with anyone in the world, at this point. We all know they will consider as “willful evaders” people who have lived overseas for 20+ years, and who rightfully never dreamed they had any responsibility to tell a foreign government anything whatsoever about their assets. Why would any reasonable person think they would?
So, just to show you that the IRS are reasonable guys, the new program will only inflict a “50 percent miscellaneous offshore penalty, instead of the 27.5 percent penalty” under the old program. I’ll stress again, that the real game here isn’t to collect taxes due, because the vast majority of the people being hounded by the IRS don’t owe any taxes. The real boon for them, is that they have the ”legal” right to take 50% of your offshore financial assets, merely for not telling Treasury and the IRS that they existed. As one poor old fellow in Florida discovered earlier this year, that could be construed to mean 50% of your offshore balance for each year unreported.
In June, 2014 Mr. Carl R. Zwerner, of Miami, was found guilty of the heinous crime of not telling the US government that he had money in an offshore, and therefore safer bank. Not that he owed any taxes related to that money, mind you, but only that he failed to inform the Fatherland that he had it. It was a little over USD $1.5 million. That will keep an 87 year old guy alive in a decent manner nowadays in Miami, but isn’t exactly a fortune in today’s economy. Displaying the type of blatant tyranny which now exists in the former America, he was then fined 50% of his total balance for each of the 3 years he was accused of not telling Uncle Sam he had it. According to Forbes, “that meant FBAR penalties of $2,241,809 for an account worth$1,691,054”. I’ll stress again, no one showed that he owed a single thin dime in taxes, he just didn’t tell anyone he had some of his hard earned money wherever he chose to place it.
In Mr. Zerner’s case, according to Forbes Magazine “he tried to come forward in 2009 even before the IRS had a special program. You’d think that might immunize him, but it didn’t. He had his tax counsel in 2008 contact IRS Criminal Investigation and make a voluntary disclosure. Mr. Zwerner disclosed the existence of his offshore account (including income generated by the account) on his timely filed 2007 tax return and paid the taxes. His former tax lawyer asked the IRS anonymously, so in IRS parlance, Mr. Zwerner didn’t fully come forward. Still, he did file amended returns for 2004, 2005 and 2006 and FBARs. But in 2010, the IRS began an audit.” Therefore, he had actually even paid the taxes due before the IRS began an audit. Furthermore, “willfulness can include conscious efforts to avoid learning about the FBAR reporting. It is sometimes called willful blindness.”
What does that even mean? How would one go about proving that someone consciously avoided learning something? Myself, when I was lucky enough to get the hell out, I learned that applying basic common sense is sufficient beyond the iron curtain, and in common sense terms, I obviously owed no money to the place where Iused to live. Is that willful blindness?
The author of the Offshore Voluntary Disclosures: To Certify or Not to Certify article is an attorney who represents many taxpayers in audits and collection matters before the Internal Revenue Service. In her experienced opinion “Although the IRS has articulated a standard of willfulness that seems to be in line with the one generally applied by the courts, it is unclear whether the IRS will remain faithful to that standard.”
So basically, you’ll be proven a willful evader, one way or another. I’ll just leave you to ponder all of that, and form your own conclusions about IRS credibility.
MORE IRS MISDIRECTION ON FATCA
Two weeks ago the following was posted IRS Extends ‘Deemed Compliant’ Status of Countries for FATCA.
“The Internal Revenue Service has issued an announcement extending the “deemed compliant” status of the 19 countries that are treated as if they had an intergovernmental agreement with the U.S. Treasury Department in place for purposes of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act.”
That could be interpreted as desperation by some. The fact is, that many of these 19 IGA’s have not yet been signed, and are merely “agreements in substance”. Even more relevant is that even if 19 countries had signed an IGA, which they haven’t, then 176 countries have not. I’ll mention yet again, that Treasury has no legal authority to go around the world negotiating such treaties, and none of them have been ratified by Congress. Also relevant is that recently, Senators Mike Lee and Robert Portman have joined Rand Paul and Bill Posey in the fight to repeal FATCA, and are on a tour of Europe waging war against it. The Canadian and Swiss people are actively working to demand that their elected representatives overturn two of those 19 hopeful IGA’s the IRS is banking on as well.
It’s glaringly obvious that Congress would never ratify the IGA’s because most of them, like the one with Germany for example, require that the US assure reciprocity. In other words, every US financial institution would then be obliged to report to every foreign government of those 195 countries regarding accounts held in US financial institutions by their citizens. In other words, incur billions in compliance costs. It is highly unlikely that Congress would never do that, and have essentially said they would not. Therefore, the whopping 19 IGA’s in place, at least in substance, are meaningless, at least from a legal perspective. They are certainly meaningless from a Constitutional perspective, but I realize that Amerika no longer has a Constitution in place.
Furthermore, I’ll repeat yet again, that if just a handful of those 195 nations holds out, in defense of their own national sovereignty, like Russia and China, for example, FATCA will be effectively unenforceable. Can you imagine Treasury withholding 30% from just a portion of the 10,500 banks who currently use the SWIFT system? That is why it isn’t currently being enforced as we speak. It remains, merely, a threat. Try to imagine the capital flight which would occur if there were such a clear dividing line. Money would flock in huge numbers to the privacy-respecting jurisdictions.
I’ve already stated that FATCA is just one more nail in the coffin of the USD as world reserve currency, and that’s looking to be true. The final nail may have been the threat of kicking Russia out of the SWIFT system. This has virtually assured that the superpower, along with China, will develop their own version of SWIFT, and completely outside the USD. In fact, that is already stated as an objective by Q1 of 2015. The BRICS nations have already set wheels in motion to establish an alternative to the IMF after a summit held in Brazil, where I’ll be heading next in order to set-up banking relationships outside of the US banking system.
Establishing a system outside of SWIFT will be a huge challenge, but under such pressures, I wouldn’t bet the Russians and Chinese couldn’t pull it off. BRICS account for 20% or so of international GDP, and have a few banks of their own. I think if Putin and Xi Jinping suggested that banks in Russia and China start using a system other than SWIFT, and stop dealing in USD, they might get heard by a few. Couple that with the gold accumulation of those two countries lately, and the refusal of the Fed to be audited and prove their gold inventory. You might be aware that South Africa and India have a bit of gold of their own, too. We’ll see how it plays out. It’s getting interesting, to be sure.
The article states “Last week, the IRS and Treasury extended that time period. Announcement 2014-38 provides guidance with respect to jurisdictions that are treated as if they had a FATCA intergovernmental agreement in effect, but that do not sign an IGA before Dec. 31, 2014.”
Hopefully most can clearly see that Treasury is getting slow-rolled to death here. The writing is on the wall, and they’d love to save face. Uncle Sam looks like an exhausted boxer throwing a couple of last feeble punches before catching the coup de grace on his white bearded chin.
BANKS REQUIRING NON US-CITIZENS TO COMPLETE US TAX FORMS
Finally for me was learning that unfortunately, for those of us who demand our basic human right to personal privacy, and the application of due process of law, even the banks in offshore jurisdictions are showing a complete lack of fortitude in the preservation of their sovereign status. In the last half of this year, I know of cases where a Bulgarian citizen was forced to complete a form swearing he was not a US citizen in order to open an account at HSBC in Hong Kong. Not that surprising considering HSBC’s status as an IRS subsidiary after the non-prosecute agreement over “terrorism” and “money-laundering.”
What did really surprise me was a small private bank, in a heretofore privacy and due-process-respecting jurisdiction, requiring that a Canadian citizen complete a form swearing that they were not a US citizen “in order to comply with FATCA”. I should think that the respective Bulgarian and Canadian passports, in addition to the related proof of address would have been sufficient. I mean, could you imagine a US citizen being required to prove that he wasn’t Canadian just so that he could open a bank account in the US?
In defense of the bank, I’m also aware of at least two offshore banks which have held strictly to their privacy policies, and in accordance to the laws of the nations in which they’re domiciled, and have suffered life-threatening attacks in retaliation for such principled behavior.
Both Loyal Bank in St Vincent, and now BMI Offshore in Seychelles, were suddenly informed by intermediary banks that they could no longer perform transfers in neither USD nor Euros. This was done by the intermediary banks without any stated justification, but I also know that some US bureaucrat was able to throw out that old smear “suspected of money laundering”. Obviously without any due process, nor proof of any kind being provided. I think we can see what’s going here, though. Uncle Sam no longer has time for due process in his desperate final throes.
However, I’d really like to know who sat down, and decided that from now on, all non-US citizens will be required to file a form, based on US laws, in order to open a bank account. That should frighten everyone who cares at all about personal freedom.
Things are happening fast campers. We’re working here to change as rapidly as are the times. That includes looking hard at BRICS jurisdictions for potential bank accounts in the near future. It also includes a unique vehicle which allows higher net worth people from the US a way to move money offshore and maintain their basic human right to personal privacy and not be subject to FATCA.
During my stay here in Uruguay, it was reported that Uruguay and Brazil will now settle all trades in local currencies, and get substantially out of the USD. Said the Brazilian President—“The measure is a step forward in Latin American monetary independence, and the best opportunity for the countries of South America to get rid of the old mechanisms of economic regulations dictated by the United States." Also during my stay, I’ve gained the ability to efficiently establish Uruguayan entities for the benefit of our clients (the best solution for those who need a merchant account for an online business), and I’ll soon be doing the same regarding bank accounts in Brazil. I’m also in preliminary talks with a Russian acquaintance to offer accounts in Russia, should the changing times make that a wise move (the Ruble, by the way, has nearly completely recovered from its recent flash crash - something mainstream media has ignored).
I truly wish that the country which the families Seymour and Greene came to in the 1630’s hadn’t turned out this way, but it’s what we’ve got. They were fleeing the upcoming English Civil War which broke out in 1642, and it may well be our time to adapt or die.
“True patriots love their country all the time, and their government when it deserves it” – Mark Twain
[Editor's Note: For more information on FATCA, contact TDV Offshore today]
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Showing posts with label foreign bank accounts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label foreign bank accounts. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 31, 2014
Think You Can Move Your Money Out Of The US In Case Of A Disaster, Think Again. FATCA Will Severely Hamper That Move
Thursday, June 5, 2014
The Pieces Of Control Of All Americans Money Are All Coming Together
Message to All Readers from Conservative Musings. The following information is provided to ensure that you know what is occurring in the United States and world-wide. We do not vouch for or condone any of the recommendations, programs, seminars or advice. You should always seek other counsel prior to acting on anything read on the internet.
Conservative Tom
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URL and to post comments: http://dollarvigilante.com/blog/2014/6/5/us-foreign-wealth-confiscation-begins-under-the-code-names-f.html
Thursday,June 05, 2014
[Editor's Note: The following post is by TDV Editor-In-Chief, Jeff Berwick]
 We have been reporting on how the US government is using very nefarious and egregious methods on tracking its own citizen's financial information, fining them and even instituting the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) as a form of subterfuge capital controls which is closing off international banking to Americans (as we reported yesterday in Mexico)
FinCen, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, has, in essence, been making nearly any international transfers of money viewed as a criminal activity. FATCA has been making it harder and harder for Americans to open international bank accounts. And FBAR, the Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts, has made it a highly punishable offense for any American with a foreign account worth over $10,000 if they do not file an FBAR each year.
The problem with FBAR is that countless Americans with foreign accounts and US expats are completely unaware of its existence. And, despite the fact that there are literally tens of thousands of rules in the US tax code for things like this, ignorance of its requirement is not excusable.
We have stated in the past that FinCen, FATCA and FBAR are all intermingled to essentially put in capital controls on the US populace and, as well, steal most of the money from those with funds abroad. In the past many said that we were being too alarmist and surely the US government would not do something like this.
Well, think again, it just happened. And it was even worse than we thought.
CARL ZWERNER JUST GOT FBAR'ED
In a court decision just released a man who ignorantly did not file an FBAR had not only all of his funds seized by the US government but, unbelievably, even more than he had in his account.
Carl Zwerner, an 87-year old Florida man, must pay the US government a 150% penalty on the value of his Swiss bank account, amounting to the biggest penalty by percentage on record, according to his lawyer. Carl Zwerner will pay more than $2 million "for willfully failing to file a US Treasury form called a Report on Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts, or FBAR. Prosecutors and the Internal Revenue Service use FBAR penalties, which sometimes are worse than criminal fines, in order stamp out "offshore tax evasion."
As we've discussed in The Dollar Vigilante Blog, individuals have flocked to the IRS amnesty program which purports to allow holders of undeclared offshore accounts avoid prosecution. Over 43,000 Americans have joined the program since 2009, shelling out $6 billion to the US.
In Zwerner's case, the IRS sought to seize 50% of the value of his account compounded over each of four years where he was deemed in non-compliance. With Zwerner's case a new precedent has been set. “As this jury verdict shows, the cost of not coming forward and fully disclosing a secret offshore bank account to the IRS can be quite high,” Kathryn Keneally, the head of the tax division, said in the statement.
“They can get 50 percent for the non-filing of one piece of paper, and 200 percent for the non-filing of four pieces of paper,” Zwerner's lawyer Martin Press said in a phone interview. “The question is whether such a massive penalty is appropriate for simply a disclosure form which carries no tax.”
Zwerner's Swiss account at ABN Amro Group NV, the Netherlands’ third-biggest bank, was valued at $1.48 million in 2004, when his FBAR penalty was $723,762; the value in 2005 was $1.49 million, when the penalty was $745,209; and the value in 2006 was $1.55 million, and a $772,838 penalty. The total penalties were $2.24 million.
Many naysayers said that the US government would not come after the total value of an account deemed in non-compliance. In a sense they were right... the US government came for nearly double the amount held in the account!
But Zwerner's isn't the biggest FBAR penalty in terms of size on record. H. Ty Warner, the billionaire founder of Beanie Babies, pleaded guilty last year on evading taxes on secret Swiss accounts that held as much as $107 million. He paid an FBAR penalty of $53.6 million. Although, compared to Zwerner, he got off easy with only 50% of his funds stolen.
Mary Estelle Curran, a 79-year-old widow from Palm Beach, Florida, pleaded guilty last year for not disclosing $43 million at UBS AG. (UBSN) She paid a $21.6 million FBAR penalty. Ms. Curran fell for the IRS's "limited-amnesty program" in 2009, where they said they would not fine her if she came forward. But the agency simply rejected her and fined her anyway. In her case it is even worse as she was indicted in late 2011 and faced up to 37 months in prison.
Zwerner testified, telling jurors that he tried to enter the IRS voluntary disclosure program, and that he didn’t know until 2008 that he must file FBARs. “Zwerner’s original tax returns for 2004 to 2007 didn’t report any income from the Swiss bank account,” reads a US complaint filed in June 2013. “The first time he reported such income was when he amended those returns.”
He failed to declare interest on his foreign account. The account was opened in the 1960s, and was held in the name of two foundations, according tot he Justice Department. “Zwerner was able to use the proceeds of the account whenever he wanted and used it for personal expenses, including European vacations,” the department said.
A TIME OF GREAT RISK... AND A TIME OF GREAT OPPORTUNITY
It can seem like there are no options for hardworking Americans, that the nation has reached that point which Ayn Rand predicted where the most productive would stop working simply because it paid more to do nothing. Even if you do work your whole life, you might be thinking, the government will ultimately come one day and take it all away.
This does not have to be the case. There are still many options available, but the landscape is quickly changing and in order to get the right advice you'll need a highly informed and nimble team such as the one at TDV Wealth Management (TDVWM) where we advise the countless Americans who have been caught up in this extortion dragnet. And you can stay informed with The Dollar Vigilante (TDV) Newsletter. TDV has been ahead of the curve advising people to internationalize their precious metals (Getting Your Gold Out Of Dodge), been early into the importance of bitcoin in protecting your assets and advising Americans to get a second passport.
On the bright side, although the news and information can be depressing, there are countless things to be excited about and a plethora of opportunities to not only survive the coming collapse of the West but to prosper. The End Of the Monetary System As We Know It (TEOTMSAWKI) will be a time of Great Transformation. If you remain open-minded, relaxed, well informed and focused you could actually do better than you even thought possible... but it is going to mean taking personal responsibility in how to navigate the coming collapse.
Your government registered financial advisor will likely not know and/or tell you about what is going on. Take responsibility for your own personal and financial future.
Through taking control and paying attention to what is going on you will be positioned for a period of great change and opportunity. If not you may get FBAR'ed like Carl Zwerner.
It's really that simple.
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Anarcho-Capitalist. Libertarian. Freedom fighter against mankind’s two biggest enemies, the State and the Central Banks. Jeff Berwick is the founder of The Dollar Vigilante, CEO of TDV Media & Services and host of the popular video podcast,Anarchast. Jeff is a prominent speaker at many of the world’s freedom, investment and gold conferences as well as regularly in the media including CNBC, CNN and Fox Business.
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Thursday, March 27, 2014
For Those Dreaming Of Retiring Overseas, FATCA Will Stop You!
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URL and to post comments: http://dollarvigilante.com/blog/2014/3/25/us-citizen-no-foreign-bank-account-for-you.html
Tuesday,March 25, 2014
[Editor's Note: The following post is by TDV Editor-in-Chief, Jeff Berwick]
Many people laughingly remember the image of the Soup Nazi in Seinfeld. If you did anything out of order or that he didn’t like, “No soup for you!”
Sadly, thanks to the upcoming Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) in the US, banks around the world are turning away US passport holders, “No bank account for you!” But you don't even have to do anything wrong other than having been born a US citizen.
Decades ago holding a US passport was a ticket to worldwide opportunity. Today it is nearly the opposite. First it started with the erosion of the US's reputation as a bastion of freedom. Then, legislation-after-legislation made it nearly impossible to do business with US persons as the nation became increasingly paranoid and fixated with raising funds.
Faced with draconian penalties on foreign banks who accept US citizens countless banks worldwide are deciding it is easier and safer to just turn away all US customer business. Not to mention much cheaper.
NO INVESTMENTS OR BROKERAGES FOR YOU EITHER
This has been the case for a long time in regards to investments and brokerages. The SEC has made it clear to anyone worldwide that if you even offer investment opportunities to US citizens they will come after you with the full power of the US government. The reason, they say, is to protect the fragile and gullible American citizens from losing money in foreign investment opportunities. What it really does is limits the investment options of Americans dramatically… at a time when the US economy is tanking and other economies around the world have been booming.
One such example is at Peter Schiff’s EuroPacific Capital in St. Vincents. EuroPacific has a great option… you can actually hold gold with them and have an ATM card where you can withdraw fiat dollars from your gold holdings. He opened up operations there because opening it within the US would have been too difficult regulatorily (sound familiar?). But, in order to get outside of those regulations they also do not allow American clients. In fact, they go so far as to not even answer the phone if it comes from a US area code!
BANKS RAPIDLY SHUTTING DOWN US CLIENTS
With thousands of banks in the world it is impossible to keep track of the changes taking place. But it will probably become a rule-of-thumb that international banks simply do not accept US clients...in fact, most banks we deal with at TDVOffshore do not accept US clients.
Most information we receive just comes from US passport holders who have recently had their accounts closed down or were denied application. The future is clear: banks are no longer accepting Americans because of FATCA. From Europe to Asia to the Caribbean the same is true.
The decision is simple for banking institutions. In fact, it is merely an issue of the bottom line. It is not worth it to track and report the data they are now required to under FATCA.
Bobby Casey, a good friend of TDV who deals with international banks all the time recounted recent experiences he has been having. Meeting with bank representatives, "I asked if there were any changes to the bank’s policy on accepting American clients. The answer was yes. They no longer accept Americans as of March 1st, 2014. The reason – FATCA. We have another Caribbean bank we work with that has, as of February 1st, stopped accepting American clients. Just this week one of my business partners walked into a local bank in Latvia to open an account and they rejected him. Why? He is American."
OVER-LEVERAGED US BANKS
By hemming in Americans to keeping their money in US banks it creates a number of serious risks to their capital.
The US banking system is leveraged at 13-to-1, which means that an 8% drop in asset values will destroy all US equity. It's worse elsewhere: Japan’s banks are leveraged at 23 to 1. France’s are 26 to 1. Germany is 32 to 1. But the US's own Federal Reserve is by far the most over-leveraged at 53 to 1.
That means the Federal Reserve, which has bailed out the world to the tune of trillions of dollars, is more over-leveraged than many of the institutions it is supposed to help.
That is twice as over-leveraged as the European Union banking system, which, as you may remember, housed the Cyprus banks, which ultimately collapsed. It is no wonder why they want to keep all their money domestically! All the easier "bail-in" when the time comes.
Either that or they will have to print a torrent of more money to keep the system alive... leading to hyperinflation and destruction of the dollar.
FATCA GOES GLOBAL
At the same time, many nation-states all over the world are drafting legislation to put them on a par with US post-FATCA. To comfortably bank anywhere in the world is steadily becoming a thing of the past. Yesterday we reported ("Governments Worldwide Adopting FATCA Style Legislation") that Russia has introduced its own FATCA style legislation.
It is all a nefarious form of capital controls that is descending on many countries throughout the world. Rather than tell you that you can’t take your money out of the country (straight-up capital controls) they just pressure banks around the world to not accept your citizens as clients… or to report all transactions back to them like an unpaid tax collector… which most banks do not want to go through the trouble to do.
For this reason, we have again set-up an urgent conference, the TDV Wealth Management Crisis Conference in Cabo San Lucas from April 30th-May 4th.
There are still ways to internationalize your funds and protect them from the prying eyes and outstretched claws of your government but it is not looking good in the near future. As governments around the world continue to implode under record-breaking amounts of debt they will continue to take their own citizens wealth at ever-increasing levels.
There are still legal and viable options to protect yourself from that as I have personally done nearly a decade ago… but if you still haven’t begun to prepare I’d be running not walking to do so. When it comes to your and your families hard earned wealth it is always better a year or two early than a day too late.
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Anarcho-Capitalist. Libertarian. Freedom fighter against mankind’s two biggest enemies, the State and the Central Banks. Jeff Berwick is the founder of The Dollar Vigilante, CEO of TDV Media & Services and host of the popular video podcast,Anarchast. Jeff is a prominent speaker at many of the world’s freedom, investment and gold conferences as well as regularly in the media including CNBC, CNN and Fox Business.
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