US FATCA FBAR filing - This is rich!

[Siempre Soluciones]

 

I file US FATCA FBARs for several of my "digital homeless" friends here in Boquete.  The term "digital homeless" is not a derogatory term, I first heard it from an MIT professor by the name of Dr. Nicholas Negroponte that I was honored to have worked with.  The term refers to people who haven't embraced the computer age, he specifically used it to address the problem of corporations being run by executives who knew little of the benefit of emerging technologies thus hindering progress.  As many of you probably know, filing these online is pretty easy these days unlike five years or so ago.  We simply cut and past the information from the previous year's filing.  Well low and behold, we found a minor error on one of the account filings, we added an extra zero resulting in an account balance of $2,171,000 instead of $217,100.

 

One must ponder, does the US government even look at these?  This erroneous filing was entered and submitted over a year ago, they certainly had plenty of time.  I would have to assume no because if they did see a foreign bank account increase from around $200k to $2 million with no corresponding IRS tax filing wouldn't that be flagged?  Doesn't Panama have kind of shaky past with banking? 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Brundageba]

Goes to show you how very closely we're being scrutinized.     

[Joyful]

Generally, these are held on file, and only scrutinized if and when you are subject to a tax audit. 

[Siempre Soluciones]

1 hour ago, Joyful said:

Generally, these are held on file, and only scrutinized if and when you are subject to a tax audit. 

 

Well that answers that.  It's a shame that they've got this system in which a very small percentage of the information is used, you'd think they'd have it automated.

 

[Moderator_02]

I enjoyed reflecting on the wording @Siempre Soluciones used in the title for this topic: "This is Rich!". I certainly would be rich if I had that kind of money.

I presumed all of these databases in the custody of the feds were routinely scanned to trigger unpleasant experiences for taxpayers. Sounds like @Joyful provided a more reasonable (and less antagonistic) procedure by the Treasury Department. Mind you, I am NOT saying that bureaucrats are reasonable and non-antagonistic.

[Brundageba]

1 hour ago, Siempre Soluciones said:

 

Well that answers that.  It's a shame that they've got this system in which a very small percentage of the information is used, you'd think they'd have it automated.

 

Yes...and one would think a tax audit flag would go up on that situation.  I know one of our attorneys here and a good friend, told us years ago that the US tax investigation team came into his law offices asking to see account records of clients.  ( he did not share them without a warrant )   His point of view on this was the US was pretty invasive and he was very very wary of not filing  whatever forms required by the US Feds  and accurately.