...

Quiet Disclosures

I previously wrote about the amnesty program in general, and streamlined procedures in particular.

Most agree that it is critical to contact the IRS before they contact you.  At the same time, many tax professionals get concerned when it is suggested that a taxpayer just quietly file prior year returns outside of any amnesty program.  Given the state of technology today, the chance of the IRS noticing is quite high.  Pretty soon, we may say that there is no such thing as a “quiet disclosure”.

Earlier this month, the Federal Tax Crimes blog reported on a recent Tax Controversy Forum where Nanette Davis, a DOJ Tax senior litigation counsel, cautioned taxpayers about quiet disclosures, with the threat that additional enforcement action may follow because

(i) the DOJ program is helping identify quiet disclosures and 

(ii) “the patterns of late returns and FBARs are clear in the data.”

 The data referenced in that quote is apparently the data in the IRS records when entering the filing of delinquent or amended income tax returns and delinquent FBARs.

Be careful…..

Related Posts