Jeffrey B. Kahn, Esq. and Windus A. Fernandez Brinkkord Discusses San Diego Real Estate, Scotland’s Proposed Alcohol Price Increase and the Panama Papers On ESPN Radio – June 10, 2016 Show

Topics Covered:

1. Interview with Vivienne Kaseno, Licensed Realtor at Realty ONE Group and Director of Homes for Hope and Healing

2. Alcohol Makers Await Scottish Ruling

3. Panama Papers Show How Rich United States Clients Hid Millions Abroad

4. Questions from our listeners:

a. We’re hearing all of this rumble of “doom and gloom” when referring to where the market is heading. What kind of investments should one be contributing in order to wait out the storm?

b. If someone had a foreign bank account that they never disclosed to the IRS and later closed out the account, can they still be liable to the IRS and subject to criminal prosecution?

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Jeff states: Good afternoon! Yes sometimes we just have to take the money and run!

Welcome to Inside Advantage – Your Financial And Tax Radio Show.

This is Board Certified Tax Attorney, Jeffrey B. Kahn, the principal attorney of the Law Offices Of Jeffrey B. Kahn, P.C. and head of the KahnTaxLaw team.

Windus states:

And this is Licensed Financial Planner, Windus A. Fernandez Brinkkord, Senior Vice President Of Investments at Trilogy Financial Services.
You are listening to our weekly radio show where we talk everything about finances and taxes from the ESPN 1700 AM Studio in San Diego, California.

Jeff states:

When it comes to knowing tax laws and paying taxes, let’s face it — everyone in the U.S. is either in tax trouble, on their way to tax trouble, or trying to avoid tax trouble!

Windus states:

And whether you are on the rebound or flying high, we have the information you need to make sound financial decisions and map out your strategy for success.

Jeff states:
Our show is broadcasted each Friday at 2:00PM Pacific Time and replays are available on demand by logging into the KahnTaxLaw website at www.kahntaxlaw.com.

Jeff states:

For today’s show we have coming up:

Segment 2 material: Alcohol Makers Await Scottish Ruling

Windus states:

Also coming up is:

Segment 3 material: Panama Papers Show How Rich United States Clients Hid Millions Abroad

And of course towards the end of our show, we will be answering some of your questions.

Jeff starts chit chat with Windus.

Windus states: Let’s introduce you to today’s guest:

Vivienne Kaseno, Licensed Realtor at Realty ONE Group and Director of Homes for Hope and Healing 619-922-0843 – Questions:

a. You’re originally from South Africa, what made you decide to make the move out to California?
b. When you first came to the US in 1991, you worked as an educator, what changed your interest to Real Estate?
c. Would you consider what you’re doing now, your dream job?
d. You’ve received quite a few awards including “Rookie of the Year” when you first started in Real Estate with Prudential. What are the driving factors of your success?
e. Do you have any predictions for the real estate market this year?
f. Is there a best time of year to buy?
g. What advice can you give someone who is looking to purchase a home this year?
h. Tell us a little bit about your work as the Director of Homes for Hope and Healing, what is your mission?
i. Do you volunteer with any other organizations? (In conjunction w/ next question)
j. What about these organizations drew you to them?

Well it’s time for a break but stay tuned because we are going to tell you about Alcohol Makers Awaiting A Scottish Ruling

You are listening to Board Certified Tax Attorney, Jeffrey B. Kahn, and Licensed Financial Planner, Windus A. Fernandez Brinkkord on Inside Advantage on ESPN.

BREAK

Welcome back. This is Inside Advantage – Your Financial And Tax Radio Show on ESPN and you are listening to Board Certified Tax Attorney, Jeffrey B. Kahn, and Licensed Financial Planner, Windus A. Fernandez Brinkkord.

And be aware of the special offer that Windus has for you: Windus PLUG: Trilogy Financial Services will provide you with a retirement cash flow analysis which is a $600.00 value for free as long as you mention the Inside Advantage Radio Show when you call to make an appointment. Call my office to make an appointment to meet with me, Windus A. Fernandez Brinkkord. The number to call is 858.314.5169. That is 858.314.5169. Or visit www.guideyourstory.com.

Alcohol Makers Await Scottish Ruling

http://on.wsj.com/1U31gOv

1. A court will mandate this summer if the government can mandate a potentially precedent-setting, minimum prices on alcohol

2. The measure is supposed to stem heavy drinking

3. The semiautonomous Scottish government in 2012 passed legislation that sets a minimum price for all alcoholic beverages of 50 pence (about 72 cents) a unit, which is equal to 10 milliliters of pure alcohol

4. Parts of Canada have some form of minimum unit pricing, but if Scotland succeeds in court it will become the first country to implement a floor price per unit of alcohol

5. Countries on the band wagon: Wales, Ireland, Estonia

6. The Scotch Whisky Association in July 2012 filed a complaint saying a pricing floor would “artificially distort trade in the alcoholic drinks market, contrary to EU law”

7. Alcohol is a particularly hot-button issue in Scotland, where sales were 20% higher than in England and Wales last year

8. Additional claims that it breaches the U.K.’s EU treaty obligations

9. Establishing a pricing floor “is a very crude implement,” said Pernod Ricard’s U.K. managing director, Denis O’Flynn. “We think personal responsibility and education is how you address the whole issue of responsible drinking”

10. However a floor of 40 pence a unit could mean 50,000 fewer crimes a year and 900 fewer alcohol-related deaths a year by the end of the decade

11. Variants of pricing based on alcohol strength have been effective where they have been implemented, health researchers say

12. A 10% increase in the minimum price of alcoholic beverages in Saskatchewan was associated with an 8.43% reduction in total alcohol consumption, according to a 2012 analysis

13. Drinking kills six Scots a day, and Scottish drinkers are twice as likely to die of alcohol-related health problems as those in the rest of the U.K.

Windus PLUG: Trilogy Financial Services will provide you with a retirement cash flow analysis which is a $600.00 value for free as long as you mention the Inside Advantage Radio Show when you call to make an appointment. Call my office to make an appointment to meet with me, Windus A. Fernandez Brinkkord. The number to call is 858.314.5169. That is 858.314.5169. Or visit www.guideyourstory.com.

Stay tuned because after the break we are going to tell you more people who have been discovered to be in the Panama Papers.

You are listening to Board Certified Tax Attorney, Jeffrey B. Kahn, and Licensed Financial Planner, Windus A. Fernandez Brinkkord on Inside Advantage on ESPN.

BREAK

Jeff states: Welcome back. This is Inside Advantage – Your Financial And Tax Radio Show on ESPN and you are listening to Board Certified Tax Attorney, Jeffrey B. Kahn, and Licensed Financial Planner, Windus A. Fernandez Brinkkord.

Calling into the studio from my Walnut Creek Office is my associate attorney, Amy Spivey.

Chit chat with Amy

And be aware of the special Offer that I have for you: PLUG: The Law Offices Of Jeffrey B. Kahn, P.C. will provide you with a Tax Resolution Plan which is a $500.00 value for free as long as you mention the Inside Advantage Radio Show when you call to make an appointment. Call my office to make an appointment to meet with me, Jeffrey Kahn, right here in downtown San Diego or at one of my other offices close to you. The number to call is 866.494.6829. That is 866.494.6829.

Panama Papers Show How Rich United States Clients Hid Millions Abroad

www.nytimes.com/2016/06/06/us/panama-papers.html?smid=nytcore-ipad-share&smprod=nytcore-ipad&_r=0

Jeff states: Dubbed the “Panama Papers” a collection of more than 11 million documents reveal how dozens of the most powerful and wealthy people around the world are laundering money, as well as evading taxes and sanctions, by using offshore accounts.

Windus states: Just this past April, documents obtained by the U.S. government from the Panama law firm of Mossack Fonseca connect to 140 politicians in over 50 countries including former leaders of Ukraine, Saudi Arabia, Argentina, Iceland, Georgia, Qatar and Iraq.

Amy states: Already it has been determined that associates of Russian President, Vladimir Putin, have funneled as much as $2 billion through offshore accounts, banks and shadow companies.

Amy continues: Given the comprehensive nature of the Panama Papers, this is the biggest breakthrough for the U.S. government and other foreign governments to combat offshore tax evasion since the 2004 UBS crackdown that resulted in the undermining of the Swiss Bank Secrecy Laws and more than 60,000 U.S. Taxpayers coming forward to voluntarily disclose their foreign bank accounts to avoid criminal prosecution and get a reduction in penalties.

Jeff states: The BBC even had reports of connections to families and associates of Syrian President Bashar Assad, former Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi, and former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

Amy states: And just about every day now a new world leader is announcing their involvement in this scheme before their names are leaked from these documents. Recently Prime Minister David Cameron of Britain admitted that he had profited from an offshore trust established by his late father.

Windus states: And this is not just limited to government leaders, professional soccer player Lionel Messi, movie star, Jackie Chan and his son Jaycee, celebrity judge Simon Cowell, and Dreamworks Co-Founder David Geffen, are just some of the few note-worthies that have been linked to the Panama Papers.

Amy states: The Panama Papers go back through 40 years of secretive dealings from the Mossack Fonseca law firm as one of the leading creators of shell companies. Documents from the firm include data on 214,488 “offshore entities” tied to individuals in roughly 200 countries and territories.

Jeff states: As the information on these documents is being released, much of the news media is picking this up and we are learning of more people who had dealings with the Mossack Fonseca law firm. The New York Times is one of those media outlets that picked up on this and published an article on this.

Amy states: William R. Ponsoldt

Amy continues: Mr. Ponsoldt retired to Florida after earning millions of dollars building a string of successful companies. He had renovated apartment buildings in the New York City area. Bred Arabian horses. Even ran a yacht club in the Bahamas, a rock quarry in Michigan, an auto-parts company in Canada, and a multibillion-dollar hedge fund. The Panama Papers show that in 2004 he approached a lawyer at Mossack Fonseca who documented that Mr. Ponsoldt’s “Primary objective is to maintain the utmost confidentiality and ideally to open bank accounts without disclosing his name as a private person.” In summary, the firm explained: “He needs asset protection schemes, which we are trying to sell him.” So the firm started a relationship that would last at least through 2015 as Mossack Fonseca managed eight shell companies and a foundation on the family’s behalf, moving at least $134 million through seven banks in six countries — little of which could be traced directly to Mr. Ponsoldt or his children.

Jeff states: Now keep in mind that many of these transactions can be legal as there are legitimate reasons to create offshore accounts, particularly when setting up a business overseas or buying real estate in a foreign country. But the documents — confidential emails, copies of passports, ledgers of bank transactions and even the various code names used to refer to clients — show that the firm did much more than simply create offshore shell companies and accounts. For many of its American clients, Mossack Fonseca offered a how-to guide of sorts on skirting or evading United States tax and financial disclosure laws.

Amy states: The documents show that the strategy included locating an individual from a “tax-convenient” jurisdiction to be the straw man owner of an offshore account, concealing the true American owner, or encouraging one client it knew was a United States resident to use his foreign passports to open accounts offshore, again to avoid scrutiny from regulators.

Windus asks: What are the Filing Requirements If You Have Undisclosed Bank Accounts?

Amy replies: By law, many U.S. taxpayers with foreign accounts exceeding certain thresholds must file Form 114, Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts, known as the “FBAR.” It is filed electronically with the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). Taxpayers with an interest in, or signature or other authority over, foreign financial accounts whose aggregate value exceeded $10,000 at any time during 2015 must file FBARs. It is due by June 30 and must be filed electronically through the BSA E-Filing System website.

Amy continues: Additionally, U.S. citizens, resident aliens and certain non-resident aliens must report specified foreign financial assets on Form 8938 if the aggregate value of those assets exceeds certain thresholds. Reporting thresholds vary based on whether a taxpayer files a joint income tax return or lives abroad. The lowest reporting threshold for Form 8938 is $50,000 but varies by taxpayer.

Windus asks: Is it true that the U.S. Requires Reporting Of Worldwide Income On U.S. Income Tax Returns?

Amy replies: The law requires U.S. citizens and resident aliens to report worldwide income, including income from foreign trusts and foreign bank and securities accounts. In most cases, affected taxpayers need to complete and attach Schedule B to their tax return. Part III of Schedule B asks about the existence of foreign accounts, such as bank and securities accounts, and usually requires U.S. citizens to report the country in which each account is located.

Windus asks: So How Does This Breakthrough Impact U.S. Taxpayers?

Jeff replies: Consider this – about 60,000 U.S. taxpayers have come forward to disclose their previously undisclosed offshore accounts but just last year alone, 300,000 U.S. taxpayers filed Form 8938 disclosing foreign accounts. That would mean that about 240,000 did not previously report their foreign accounts and that under this recent filing of Form 8938 to IRS, they have put the IRS on direct notice of their non-compliance.

Jeff continues: Our office saw an increase in interest and activity by U.S. taxpayers hiring our firm after the 2004 UBS scandal and subsequent implementation by IRS of its first dedicated Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program.

Amy states: So we encourage taxpayers who are concerned about their undisclosed offshore accounts to come in voluntarily before learning that the U.S. is investigating the bank or banks where they hold accounts. By then, it will be too late to avoid the new higher penalties under the OVDP of 50% percent – nearly double the regular maximum rate of 27.5% and 10 times more than the 5% rate offered in the expanded streamlined procedures.

Jeff states: And keep in mind that once the IRS contacts you, you cannot get into this program. You will now be subject to the maximum penalties (civil and criminal) under the tax law. Which is why …

PLUG: The Law Offices Of Jeffrey B. Kahn, P.C. will provide you with a Tax Resolution Plan which is a $500.00 value for free as long as you mention the Inside Advantage Radio Show when you call to make an appointment. Call my office to make an appointment to meet with me, Jeffrey Kahn, right here in downtown San Diego or at one of my other offices close to you. The number to call is 866.494.6829. That is 866.494.6829.

Thanks Amy for calling into the show. Amy says Thanks for having me.

Stay tuned as we will be taking some of your questions. You are listening to Board Certified Tax Attorney, Jeffrey B. Kahn, and Licensed Financial Planner, Windus A. Fernandez Brinkkord on Inside Advantage on ESPN.

BREAK

Jeff states: Welcome back. This is Inside Advantage – Your Financial And Tax Radio Show on ESPN and you are listening to Board Certified Tax Attorney, Jeffrey B. Kahn, and Licensed Financial Planner, Windus A. Fernandez Brinkkord.

And Windus and I always pleased to make our offers to our listeners where… PLUG: The Law Offices Of Jeffrey B. Kahn, P.C. will provide you with a Tax Resolution Plan which is a $500.00 value for free as long as you mention the Inside Advantage Radio Show when you call to make an appointment. Call my office to make an appointment to meet with me, Jeffrey Kahn, right here in downtown San Diego or at one of my other offices close to you. The number to call is 866.494.6829. That is 866.494.6829.

Windus states: Windus PLUG: Trilogy Financial Services will provide you with a retirement cash flow analysis which is a $600.00 value for free as long as you mention the Inside Advantage Radio Show when you call to make an appointment. Call my office to make an appointment to meet with me, Windus A. Fernandez Brinkkord. The number to call is 858.314.5169. That is 858.314.5169. Or visit www.guideyourstory.com.

You should also know that the securities and advisory services are offered through National Planning Corporation (NPC) Member FINRA, SIPC, and a Registered Investment Advisor. Trilogy Financial Services and NPC are separate and unrelated Entities.

Jeff states: If you would like to post a question for us to answer, you can go to my website at www.kahntaxlaw.com and click on “Radio Show”. You can then enter your question and maybe it will be selected for our show.

OK Windus, what questions have you pulled for us to answer?

Dianne from San Diego asks: We’re hearing all of this rumble of “doom and gloom” when referring to where the market is heading. What kind of investments should one be contributing in order to wait out the storm?

Windus answers.

Carlos from Del Mar asks: If someone had a foreign bank account that they never disclosed to the IRS and later closed out the account, can they still be liable to the IRS and subject to criminal prosecution?

Jeff answers: Many people believe that because they closed out their foreign accounts, they have insulated themselves from any scrutiny by the IRS and do not need to worry about liability or criminal prosecution. That is a big myth. Foreign banks are now required to report present and past U.S. account holders to the U.S. government. We have clients who closed out their accounts as long as three years before who were later contacted by the foreign bank and informed that they were being disclosed to the IRS. I encourage taxpayers who are concerned about their undisclosed offshore accounts to come in voluntarily before learning that the U.S. is investigating the bank or banks where they hold accounts. By then, it will be too late to avoid the new higher penalties under the OVDP of 50% percent – nearly double the regular maximum rate of 27.5% and 10 times more than the 5% rate offered in the expanded streamlined procedures.

Jeff states: Well we are reaching the end of our show.

Remember you can send us your questions by visiting the kahntaxlaw website at www.kahntaxlaw.com.

Windus states: Have a great day everyone!