THE ASSAULT ON AMERICAN FINANCIAL PRIVACY GOES ON
December 27, 2011
Mountain Vision
By Bernarda Pesantez
We have just recently been made aware of new reporting guidelines. Clearly, at this point, the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS), and possibly the Treasury Department too, want to know about EVERYTHING you have…EVERYWHERE. The time of keeping assets out of government´s sight in compliance with the rules of that government appear to be over.
We have periodically alerted our Moutaineers to increasingly strict and intrusive international tax regulations. In particular, we discussed American regulations, since many of our readers are Americans and because, unfortunately, other OECD countries tend to follow the Americans´ lead in this context, as in the context of other matters…
Reporting Instructions for Form 8938
In spring, we updated you on the final rules regarding the US FBAR reporting requirements. Furthermore, in May, we gave you some guidelines and instructions on how to complete the FBAR for your international insurance policies, since a number of questions came up in that regard.
Finally, a few months ago, we alerted you to a new IRS / Treasury form in its draft state: the IRS / TDF form 8938. This form, contrary to the FBAR (TDF 90-22.1), is not a Treasury Department form. It is a joint form of the IRS and the Treasury Department and the form requests information on all of your foreign assets, not just ‘foreign bank accounts´.
In November, the IRS has issued “Instructions for Form 8938″. After quietly releasing a draft version of the new form titled ‘Statement of Specified Foreign Financial Assets´, they have provided instructions that now leave little doubt: US persons will be required to report all worldwide assets subject to exceptions and applicable threshold amounts.
I recommend you take a close look at the actual form and instructions linked here. Also, be sure to read the following article, The Assault on Financial Privacy Goes On, contributed by our friend Kevin Brekke, an editor at Casey Research and a contributing editor to International Man.
