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September 19, 2011 at 08:59 AM
Getting straight with the IRS is gaining momentum among Americans who have previously evaded taxes by not disclosing offshore assets and income.
The motivation is a much toughened approach to global tax evasion and a two-part program that gave taxpayers with undisclosed offshore assets an opportunity to square their accounts with the IRS.
Since 2009, some 30,000 taxpayers have made disclosures as part of the IRS’s Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program, including 12,000 in 2011, the agency reported Thursday.
The first disclosure program, which ended in October 2009, proved so successful that the IRS initiated a 2011 follow-up program that ended Sept. 9.
The IRS said the 2009 program led to about 15,000 voluntary disclosures and another 3,000 applicants who came in after the deadline, but were allowed to participate in the 2011 initiative. The agency has closed about 80% of these cases, and collected $2.2 billion in taxes, interest and penalties. These cases represented bank accounts in 140 countries.
