How Panama Cut Poor Kids Out Of A Florida Millionaire's Will

This is an excerpt from Tim Padgett, Latin America Report @WLRN

. . . What has happened to Lucom’s will since he died in 2006 is a bewildering if not byzantine tale of legal intrigue that stretches from Panama City to Palm Beach County. Critics at home and abroad call it a stark illustration of Panama’s, and to a large degree Latin America’s, indifference to gaping wealth inequality and brazen judicial corruption – two factors that weigh down the region’s development like millstones.

Boca Raton tax attorney Richard S. Lehman Esq., was an executor of Lucom's will, and he's a central character in this Grisham-esque drama. “No one who has grown up in the American system, who believes in the law, can possibly be prepared for the lawlessness of Panama,” he says.

But the case may now be taking another important turn. “It’s not dead,” Lehman argues, “by any stretch of the imagination.”

LISTEN TO AUDIO and read this full story here:
http://wlrn.org/post/how-panama-cut-poor-kids-out-florida-millionaires-will

The Solution to the Tax Inversion

What Congress is overlooking, is that assuming there is a 15% tax savings to Burger King on its foreign source income, that 15% in extra profits translates into corporate profits that are often paid as dividends to U.S. individuals.

These are dividends that might not otherwise have ever been paid to the United States individuals who own the shares of Burger King.

Those U.S. individuals who are receiving dividends as a result of increased Burger King profits which result from Burger King’s Tax Inversion, will then pay a federal income tax on the additional dividends earned from the Burger King Company. These individual taxes on the dividends can be as high as 23%, depending on the individual taxpayers’ taxable income.

In certain instances, depending upon the dividend policies of the inverted American companies, the Congress may find that more tax revenue is being raised as a result of the tax savings on the inverted company’s foreign source income than the tax revenue that may have been raised by the direct taxation of that U.S. corporation’s profits at the 35% tax rate. . . .

. . . The better solution to the Inversion would be for Congress to reduce the excessive corporate tax rates from 35% to a lower tax rate that would invite not only the American corporation to stay in the U.S. but would also invite corporations from foreign countries all over the world to open their operations in the United States because of the favorable tax rates on corporations doing business in America.

Read full article by Richard S. Lehman Esq:
http://www.lehmantaxlaw.com/domestic-tax-planning/much-damage-really-caused-tax-inversions/

The Tax Planning for Expatriation from the United States by Richard S. Lehman

Tax planning is a must for all Americans who are planning to make the transition.

An “Expatriate” means any U.S. citizen who relinquishes his or her citizenship. It also includes any long term resident of the United States who ceases to be a lawful permanent resident of the United States (Green Card). This is limited to an individual who is a green cardholder for a minimum of 8 taxable years during the period of 15 taxable years that end and include the long term residents’ expatriation date.

The taxation of Americans and long term green card holders who expatriate from the United States has gone through many changes over the years.

The latest version of these changes with tax expatriating Americans on their accumulated un-taxed wealth prior to their leaving the United States, along with their earned income that has not been paid and will be paid in the future.

In addition, the United States tax laws will tax expatriating Americans at draconian rates, for Americans that die owning United States wealth and that make significant gifts after they have given up their United States citizenship.

 

Proper Expatriation involves numbers crunching and, in many cases, the cost of the exit and/or inheritance taxes now or later will be less than a lifetime of the various taxes suffered as a U.S. citizen.

In many cases, the expatriation inclined person would do well to take the plunge now rather than wait for Congress to further tinker with the rules, which history teaches is only a matter of time.

– Richard S. Lehman, United States Tax Attorney

The new I.R.S. changes to Offshore Bank And Foreign Asset Disclosure Programs is explained by United States Tax Attorney, Richard S. Lehman

This is an extremely important and valuable I.R.S. Program. It allows almost every American who has been afraid to step forward and disclose their foreign assets to the U.S. taxing authorities to do so with minimized penalties on unpaid taxes and unfiled information returns.

Purpose of the streamlined procedures: The streamlined filing compliance procedures are available to taxpayers certifying that their failure to report foreign financial assets and pay all tax due in respect of those assets did not result from willful conduct on their part. The streamlined procedures are designed to provide to taxpayers in such situations:

(1) a streamlined procedure for filing amended or delinquent returns and (2) terms for resolving their tax and penalty obligations. These procedures will be available for an indefinite period until otherwise announced. This means that just as the Internal Revenue Service has suddenly announced this highly beneficial “settlement tool”, the Internal Revenue Service can withdraw the program. Eligible taxpayers need to act quickly.

Richard S. Lehman, Esq.

6018 S.W. 18th Street, Suite C-1
Boca Raton, FL 33433
Tel: 561-368-1113
Fax: 561-368-1349
Skype: LehmanTaxLaw
Email: rlehman@lehmantaxlaw.com
Website: LehmanTaxLaw.com

Government Accountability Office seeks Lehman's advice on the treatment of the Ponzi Scheme Clawback

Our latest findings with the new IRS Amnesty Program

I did say that the Service's position on the Amnesty was very much unmovable. 

However, I do want to report that we are having success in certain types of cases in getting the bank deposit penalties either eliminated or reduced in a manner which doesn’t show up obviously in the IRS series of questions. 

In the first case, we’re relying on Questions 17 in the IRS question which does say if you have no taxable income and you’ve paid all your taxes on your taxable income, there’s not going to be the substantial FBAR penalty violation that comes with a willful FBAR violation.  That being the case, with no taxes due, you don’t need to be in the amnesty program. 

What we had found is people have gone in the amnesty program, and then because of either loss, carry-forwards, or foreign tax credits on foreign income or whatever may arise in these individuals’ situations, that at times even though there’s been foreign bank deposit investment income not reported, we have been able to show that there has been no taxable income.  So that’s one area where there is some deviation if it’s handled in a sophisticated way.  

Richard Lehman has had extensive experience with all areas of the Internal Revenue Code that apply to American taxpayers and nonresident aliens and foreign corporations investing or conducting business in the United States, as well as U.S. citizens and domestic corporations investing abroad. 

Mr. Lehman has a national reputation for handling the toughest tax cases, structuring the most sophisticated income tax and estate tax plans, and defending clients before the Internal Revenue Service.