IRS Official Announces New Focus on Offshore Assets in Indian Banks

Reporting on a California State Bar Tax Section Meeting, Tax Notes reports that the IRS will soon (as early as the week of 11/11/13) ) “begin examining U.S. taxpayers suspected of holding undeclared accounts in Indian banks, according to Nicholas Connors, a supervisory revenue agent” with SB/SE.  Kristen A. Parillo, IRS Will Soon Examine U.S. Taxpayers With Undeclared Indian Bank Accounts, 2013 TNT 219-4 (11/13/13).  Here is an excerpt:

After receiving account information from Indian banks, the IRS has about 100 Indian bank account cases that it is sending out for examination across the country, he said.

“I think California, because of the large Indian population, is going to get more than its fair share of cases,” Connors said. “Within the Northern California/Bay Area, we’re scheduled to pick up 30 or 40 of those.”

“Looking ahead, the offshore bank investigations are just going to grow,” Connors said. In addition to India, “Israel is on the list of banks that is providing information to us, and from there it just keeps going on and on,” he said. “Within Examination, there’s talk that this could someday become a work issue for every single revenue agent in SB/SE where everyone will be working some type of offshore case.”

While the IRS has recently targeted Swiss, Israeli and Indian banks, India continues to be a focal point for the United States government. While new criminal prosecutions start and continue, our law firm expects unabated aggressive enforcement of the US tax laws, including increased criminal prosecutions and civil audit examinations. We have been advising our clients to expect the unexpected (and the worst) in their tax treatment and disclosure of offshore assets, particularly for Indian assets.

Patel Law Offices has consulted with hundreds of clients regarding their offshore asset compliance issues. Patel Law Offices is a law firm dedicated to helping clients resolve complicated tax, criminal tax, and international tax problems. Our firm assists (and defends) clients and their advisors to legally disclose (and legitimize) foreign accounts.

Patel Law Offices offers a strategy session to discuss how to resolve your legal problem. Conveniently schedule online today with our online scheduler and questionnaire.