Report that Prominent Billionaires Are Subject to Criminal Investigation

 

Taxpayers Who Entered OVDP Closing Agreement Seek Their Money Bank Under the APA 

In Harrison v. IRS (D. D.C. Dkt. 1:20-cv-00828) (key pleadings at CourtListener here), the taxpayers, husband and wife, joined the IRS OVDP at a time when the miscellaneous (or in lieu of penalty) was 27 1/2% of the high amount in the account(s) over the covered years.  While taxpayers were in process on the OVDP, the IRS announced the Streamlined Process which would permit nonwillful taxpayers to obtain the same relief with a 5% miscellaneous penalty.  The IRS announced also that qualifying taxpayers in OVDP process could transition to the Streamlined Process.  The key qualification for the Streamlined Process was that taxpayers be nonwillful.  The taxpayers attempted to transition into the Streamline Process but were denied transition by the IRS committee that must approve the transition.  (Taxpayers refer to this process as governed by Transition Rules.)  At that point, their options were to either accept the OVDP civil penalty result or opt out and hope to achieve a lesser costs (principally the FBAR nonwillful penalty or no penalty at all).  The taxpayers did not opt out and entered a Closing Agreement under the OVDP penalty structure (notably 27 1/2% miscellaneous penalty as noted).

Report that Prominent Billionaires Are Subject to Criminal Investigation 

This is a fascinating report of a tax investigation in process against two very prominent billionaires, Robert Brockman and David Smith.  David Voreacos & Neil Weinberg, Billionaire Robert Smith Fighting U.S. Criminal Tax Inquiry (1) (BloombergLaw 8/21/20), here.  This is an ongoing investigation, so charges may never be brought and, if they are, the  shape of the charges are uncertain.

What caught my eye and, I think may be of interest to readers of this blog is the following discussing divorce proceedings between Smith and his estranged wife:

            Experts on both sides of the divorce pored over the family finances. In 2014, Smith approached the IRS seeking amnesty from prosecution under a program used by more than 56,000 Americans who failed to report offshore assets, according to two of the people familiar with the matter. Through the program, the IRS collected more than $11 billion in back taxes, fines and penalties, while learning who enabled offshore tax evaders.

            But the IRS rejected Smith, according to people familiar with the matter. The agency typically turned down taxpayers if it already knew they had undeclared offshore accounts.

Now, I don’t know but assume that, because of the specificity (although limited), the investigators are correct about his attempt to go into the voluntary disclosure program and being rejected.  The article does not state whether Smith attempted the OVDP or Streamlined or OVDP with Streamline transition.  The Streamlined Procedures were adopted in 2014 the year that the article indicates he approached the IRS.  Of course, if Smith’s tax underpayment and FBAR failure to file (or file correctly) are the subject of a criminal investigation, the IRS must now think him willful which would have in 2014 disqualified for the Streamlined Procedures (even the Transition).  But, if the IRS already had Smith on the radar screen knew when he attempted to join OVDP, he would have been disqualified as the article notes.  

We don’t know whether he was disqualified from OVDP because of already being on the radar screen or he attempted Streamlined (either direct or through transition from OVDP) and was rejected because his nonwillful certification was inadequate.  Of course, if he attempted Streamlined via OVDP transition and was rejected, he still could have solved his criminal problem by staying in OVDP and not opting out.

Some unanswered questions and surely there must be more questions.  And the statutes of limitations may be an issue since one would assume that the targets of the investigation have kept their income tax filings current and, within a range, proper, at least in the case of Smith who knew when he was rejected (in 2014) that he had potential criminal issues.