KPMG - Taxing Hidden Wealth: The Consequences of U.S. Enforcement Initiatives on Evasive Foreign Accounts

An inconvenient truth: regulation often helps the very companies being regulated against because the rules are so expensive to follow that only incumbents can afford it.

High-profile detective Gary Jubelin charged over alleged illegal recordings

The high-profile detective sensationally quit the NSW Police last month. He has now been charged with four criminal offences.

Rowers’ Reprise: how Angus Taylor’s mates cleaned up without him

'Political football': controversial NSW coal project granted mining licence

The controversial Wallarah 2 coal project has been granted mining licences by the NSW government.

 *Open Market Institute via LM

Day of Reckoning for KPMG-Failures in EthicsFCPA Compliance Report (Chuck L). Wowsers. The article is full of stuff like this:

In addition to taking these mandatory CPE hours, the professionals are required to pass a proficiency examination, administered by KPMG. KPMG also provides internal training to help its professional prepare for this examination. Professionals get three chances to pass. If they fail three times, they are reported internally, cannot sign off on audit assignment and may receive a dock in pay.

However it turns out that KMPG employees, from senior partners including lead audit engagement partners who were responsible for compliance with PCAOB standards in auditing their clients’ financial statements, down to junior level employees were sharing the examination answers freely between themselves. They shared this information via email and even sent screen shots of pages with correct answers.

The KPMG cheating scandal was much more widespread than originally thought Francine McKenna, MarketWatch

Jay Soled (Rutgers), Reimagining the Estate Tax in the Automation Era, 9 UC Irvine L. Rev. 787 (2019):

In a technological age, labor no longer plays the central role it once did in the nation’s economy. Instead, automation has become more ubiquitous. This economic transformation has important and far-reaching consequences for the nation’s tax system and, in particular, the means by which to fund public expenditures.

Under current law, the central underpinning to automatization, namely, capital, yields income that is either lightly taxed or, in some instances, escapes taxation altogether. This puts tremendous stress on the nation’s coffers and further perpetuates wealth disparities. Yet, levying a heavier capital gains tax burden might (i) dissuade taxpayers from realizing their gains and (ii) in a global arena, result in its flight.

The IRS has released the papers from the 2018 IRS-TPC Joint Research Conference: on Tax Administration (program, research bulletin):

Foreword

1. Interventions: Factors That Contribute to Voluntary Compliance

• Does Employer Withholding Affect Tax Compliance, and Why?
  William Boning
• Accountants are not tax advisors: Using random audit data to test the effect of certified accountancy on SME’s tax compliance in Denmark between 2008 and 2014
  Johanne Søndergaard
• Compliance Spillovers Across Taxes: Results from a Field ExperimentResolving Unpaid Taxes and the Notice of Federal Tax Lien: Evidence from the Fresh Start Initiative
  Carlos Scartascini and Andrea López-Luzuriaga

2. Behavioral Responses to IRS Interventions

• Using Behavioral Insights in Notice Design to Improve Taxpayer Responses and Achieve Compliance OutcomesWhat Drives Income Tax Filing Compliance?
  Elena Anne Herlache, Jan Millard, Alicia Miller, and Michelle Theel 
• Federal Tax Liens and Letters: Effectiveness of the Notice of Federal Tax Liens and Alternative IRS Letters on Individual Tax Debt Resolution
  Ishani Roy, Brett Collins, Alex Turk, Alan Plumley, Terry Ashley, and Jeff Wilson

3. Complexity and Global Tax Administration

• Taxing Hidden Wealth: The Consequences of U.S. Enforcement Initiatives on Evasive Foreign Accounts
  Niels Johannesen, Patrick Langetieg, Daniel Reck, Max Risch, and Joel Slemrod
• Global Tax Administration Initiatives Addressing Tax Evasion and Avoidance
  Thomas Neubig

4. Future Directions in Tax Administration

• Who is Minding the Nanny Tax?
  Brian Erard
• Can IRS Move Paper Filers to Free Assisted Tax Preparation?Do Appeals to Social Norms Increase Taxpayer Compliance?
  Brenda Schafer, Rizwan Javaid, Jacob Goldin, Adam Isen, and Tatiana Homonoff
• Creating a Fully Synthetic Individual Income Tax Return Data File and Validation Server
  Leonard E. Burman, Surachai Khitatrakun, James R. Nunns, Sarah Armstrong, and Alex Engler

Here are PDF copies of the slides from sessions 1, 2, 3, and 4:
Session 1     Session 2    Session 3    Session 4