In a recent announcement, the IRS stated that it intends to keep its Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program (OVDP) open indefinitely.
Introduced in 2012, the OVDP began after previous time-limited programs had closed. To date, the program has been marked as being incredibly successful with more than 50,000 taxpayers making voluntary disclosures regarding offshore bank accounts and the Treasury collecting more than $7 billion in additional taxes, interest, and penalties from participants. These numbers confirm that the OVDP is far and away the most successful voluntary disclosure initiative ever offered by the IRS and a big reason the OVDP will remain open indefinitely.
Additionally, the IRS reaffirmed its commitment to pursuing taxpayers who hide assets overseas all over the world by announcing the latest OVDP breakthrough as part of its daily list of “Dirty Dozen” tax scams for the 2015 filing season. In an announcement entitled “Hiding Money or Income Offshore Among the ‘Dirty Dozen’ List of Tax Scams for the 2015 Filing Season,” the IRS stated that “avoiding taxes by hiding money or assets in unreported offshore accounts remains on its annual list of tax scams known as the ‘Dirty Dozen’ for the 2015 filing season.” “The recent string of successful enforcement actions against offshore tax cheats and the financial organizations that help them shows that it’s a bad bet to hide money and income offshore,” said IRS Commissioner John Koskinen. “Taxpayers are best served by coming in voluntarily and getting their taxes and filing requirements in order.”
Those who continue to evade the IRS will be brought to justice and criminally prosecuted through joint investigations between the IRS and the U.S. Department of Justice. Now is the time to review your situation with a professional and determine the best way to come into compliance with IRS regulations.
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