FINCast Ep. 19 - The DPRK Sanctions Program
Did you know that the number of California FTB audits is increasing when compared to the trend of IRS audits in 2025? The California Franchise Tax Board, or FTB, has recently invested in advanced data processing systems and...more
Every year, foreign lenders make thousands of loans to U.S. entities. The U.S. withholding tax on the related interest payments has been generally stable since 1984. The general rule is that interest paid under these loans...more
On May 1, 2025, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) regarding the Huione Group, a foreign financial institution located in Cambodia. This proposal, enacted under...more
The world is an ever-changing, ever-evolving crucible of financial and other serious challenges for expats and those considering moving abroad, as well as foreign nationals living and working in the United States. Oversight,...more
On 20 February 2025, the United States (U.S.) Department of State designated eight international cartels as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs) and Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGTs). The designation of...more
The designations expand US tools and jurisdictional reach, and raise the stakes for foreign financial institutions and non-US companies to avoid dealing with designated entities....more
Offshore accounts are appealing to those trying to hide money because they offer banking secrecy in certain jurisdictions, lax reporting requirements compared to domestic accounts, and complex structures involving shell...more
International business and offshore investment and banking create genuine risk and exposure with the IRS. This extends to real estate ownership outside of the U.S. and other offshore-related financial activities, which raise...more
A common strategy many wealth management firms recommend is ensuring that as much as 30% of your portfolio includes foreign investments and securities. What is the potential tax impact of foreign investments? One of the keys...more
The IRS has clearly identified legitimate reasons why "U.S. Persons" would establish or maintain ownership in a foreign trust. However, a foreign trust creates complex IRS reporting requirements for US taxpayers who own a...more
In a significant development underscoring the U.S. government’s continued efforts to counter Russia’s destabilizing activities, the U.S. Department of the Treasury recently announced the designation of Gazprombank as a...more
On November 21, 2024, the Biden Administration announced sweeping new sanctions targeting numerous Russian banks, financial institutions and officials, including one of the largest remaining unblocked Russian banks,...more
The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control has designated dozens of Russian banks including Gazprombank and issued an alert warning foreign financial institutions of the risk of U.S. sanction for...more
On November 21, 2024, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) took further action to restrict Russia’s access to the international financial system by designating Gazprombank Joint Stock...more
IRS issued Notice 2024-78 on 10/28/24 providing the extension of temporary relief for FATCA Model 1 Financial Institutions (FFI’s) regarding the reporting of U.S. Taxpayer Identification Numbers. This means that the temporary...more
Is it too late to correct past FBARs and file amended returns with the IRS? The net is closing in on U.S. taxpayers with unreported or under-reported domestic and offshore income and assets. The IRS has increased audits in...more
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has updated its ‘grey list’ of jurisdictions under increased monitoring, removing Senegal and adding Algeria, Angola, Côte d’Ivoire, and Lebanon. The intergovernmental organization made...more
In recent months, the United Kingdom’s sanctions regime has received noteworthy updates with implications for a range of entities operating both domestically and abroad. The changes are housed in an update to the Russia...more
Notice 2023-11, issued in December 2023, provided limited relief to certain foreign financial institutions (FFIs) that were not fully in compliance with the terms of their Model 1 FATCA Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA)....more
The IRS digital asset broker reporting requirements were finalized earlier this year and impact all digital asset (i.e., cryptocurrency and Non-Fungible Tokens or NFTs) transactions beginning January 1, 2025. What do...more
A Gesture Providing Limited Solace to a Now-Defunct Bank - Six years ago, in early 2018, we blogged about the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network’s (“FinCEN’s”) designation of ABLV Bank, AS...more
U.S. Persons prohibited from transactions with anyone on the OFAC SDN List without a license, regardless of country. Includes entities owned in excess of 50-percent by one or more SDNs (33-percent for select Russian...more
On June 27, 2024, Switzerland and the United States executed the Agreement between Switzerland and the United States of America to Improve International Tax Compliance and to Implement FATCA (New IGA), which will take effect...more
On June 6, 2024, the Regulation of Payment Services and Payment Initiation Law came into effect. Relevant entities may now submit license applications for providing payment and payment initiation services....more
On July 3, 2024, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) announced that it had amended entries for a multitude of entities sanctioned under the Treasury’s Russian Harmful Foreign...more