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March 2016

Brager Tax Law Group Receives FOIA Documents on Australian Superannuation Accounts and Other Foreign Retirement Plans

Our tax attorneys have had many clients with Superannuation accounts in Australia. For those of you not familiar with Superannuation accounts, these are the Australian version of our tax-favored retirement plans. These Superannuation accounts, sometimes referred to as Supers, can be very problematic for immigrants from Australia to the U.S., because they may or may not be subject to taxation in the U.S. The ownership of a Super may trigger the requirement to file an FBAR (Foreign Bank Account Report, FinCEN Form 114, formerly TDF 90-22.1) and/or Form 8938, Form 3520 or Form 3520-A. The proper treatment of a Super under U.S. tax law has been the subject of many articles on the internet and confusion abounds. Part of this confusion is because there are different types of Supers and, depending upon the facts and circumstances, the U.S. tax treatment may differ.

Over a year ago, one of our tax lawyers had a conversation with the IRS' Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program (OVDP) hotline to ask about the treatment of a Super. We were told that no Form 3520 was required. The person we spoke to was obviously reading from a script and, of course, we asked for a copy. Just as predictably, we were told that it was an "internal document," and, therefore, we couldn't get it. This led our tax lawyers to file a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Request in early April 2015, which was received by the IRS, appropriately enough, on April 15th. The substance of the request was as follows:
Please provide all documents, including internal guidance materials and training materials, that have not previously been published in the Internal Revenue Manual or on the IRS' website (including but not limited to memoranda, staff manuals, Powerpoint presentations, videos and any other materials) concerning or related to the IRS' treatment of Australian superannuation accounts (aka "ASAs") or other non-U.S. deferred compensation arrangements or employee trusts (but not including Canadian arrangements or trusts) for purposes of United States taxation and information return filing under the Internal Revenue Code (26 U.S.C. §1, et seq.), the Bank Secrecy Act (31 U.S.C. §15, et seq.), the Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program (aka the "OVDP"), the Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Initiative (aka the "OVDI"), the Streamlined Filing Compliance Procedures (aka the "SFCP") and/or Transitional Treatment under OVDP/I, including any such documents used by or available to IRS personnel working at the IRS' Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Civil Hotline at (267) 941-0020.
After a year of requests for extensions from the IRS, we finally received what has been termed by the IRS as an "interim response." We have posted a complete copy of the material here. The IRS has requested a further extension until May 20, 2016 to supply the remainder of the requested material. Let us know by commenting on our Tax Problem Attorney blog if you find something of interest in the materials.
In a few days, after we have had a chance to digest the documents we received, we will comment on anything of interest.

The Brager Tax Law Group is a tax litigation and tax controversy law firm, which represents clients with tax problems and tax disputes with the IRS, the California Franchise Tax Board (FTB), the State Board of Equalization (SBE) and the Employment Development Department (EDD). All of the firm's tax lawyers are former trial attorneys with the IRS.

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Dennis N. Brager, Esq.
Former IRS Senior Trial Attorney
Nationally Recognized California State Bar Certified Tax Specialist
dbrager@bragertaxlaw.com

310.208.6200
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Dennis' webinar, "A Brief Guide to Getting (and Keeping) Your Clients with Foreign Connections out of Trouble, Including FBARs, OVDP, and Lesser Known Issues" is available on the Brager Tax Law Group Website:
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Brager Tax Law Group
10880 Wilshire Boulevard
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Los Angeles, California 90024
Tel: (310) 208-6200
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