The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania denied summary judgment to both the IRS and a taxpayer with regard to his Swiss bank account. In the case, the IRS slapped the maximum penalty on the taxpayer for willfully failing to file a Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR).
The Court concluded that whether the taxpayer willfully failed to submit an accurate FBAR was an inherently factual question and that genuine disputes existed as to what the taxpayer knew about his reporting requirements and when he knew it.
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By Anu Joshi, CPA, Tax Manager
ASL Family Wealth & Individual Tax Group
A common misconception is that once you have a will and a living trust in place, nothing else needs to be done in order for your assets to be distributed at your death according to your wishes. The mere listing of an asset in the trust agreement does not make it a trust asset. Actually, assets have to be held in the name of the trustee, (i.e. the title of the asset has to be transferred to the trustee of the trust,) in order for the asset to be subject to the terms of the trust agreement. At the same time, certain types of assets pass by other means, irrespective of whether or not a will or trust is in place. You will want to understand these differences in order to appropriately title your assets to make sure they are transferred as you intend at death.
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By Steve Carter, CPA, CGMA, Principal
ASL Construction Group
The issue of roof repairs and replacement presents an age-old dilemma for tax professionals and our clients. Generally (and most often optimally), one hopes that such repair, or even replacement costs, can be expensed in the year incurred. But the analysis required to determine what should be done is not so simple, especially with the recent issuance of the Tangible Property Regulations by the IRS.
To get to the best outcome, we need to raise insightful questions with our clients regarding their roofing system.
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By Patrick Ngai, CPA, Audit Manager
ASL Renewable Energy Group
Started in 1997, Center for Resource Solution’s (CRS) Green-e Energy Program has become one of the nation’s largest certification programs for the Green Power market today. The Program is governed by two documents: the Green-e Energy National Standard, which provides the requirements for the types of resources that are eligible to generate certified Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs); and the Green-e Code of Conduct, which dictates how program participants (Participant) can market their certified REC products.
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By Helena Bouron, CPA, Senior Audit Manager
ASL Nonprofit Group
Generally, summer months are busy for most nonprofit organizations, with the year-end financial close and preparation for the annual audit process. Through this process, the Organization’s finance and accounting teams are working to demonstrate to external parties their compliance with internal processes and controls and laws and regulations. To better ensure the Organization’s compliance, the Audit Committee provides assistance to the Board of Directors in the oversight of these activities.
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