Below is a fairly detailed summary of the type of tax crimes that are commonly investigated by IRS Criminal Investigation (“CI”) agents.

As has already been noted, TaxAnalysts reporter Jaime Arora reported in the 3 March 2014, Worldwide Tax Daily certain comments made by Mr. Jeffrey Cooper, who is the deputy director of the IRS Criminal Investigation division’s international operations.  It was reported that IRS CI is looking into why people are making the choice to shed their U.S. citizenship; whether it is related to any particular laws.  Cooper was quoted at the Federal Bar Association’s Section on Taxation’s 38th Annual Tax Law Conference held on February 28, 2014.

TaxAnalysts journalist Arora quoted Cooper as identifying why people are making the choice and  “If we find something, we do; if not, we just move on,” he said.

It is common policy for the IRS CI not to provide information on how they commence taxpayer investigations, including how they obtain U.S. citizenship renunciation referrals or documents.  There could be a number of ways these investigations are commenced.  It may be as simple as taking the list from the Quarterly Publication of Individuals, Who Have Chosen to Expatriate – Quarterly Publication of Individuals, Who Have Chosen To Expatriate, as Required by Section 6039G and start reviewing their tax return files (IRS Forms 1040, 8854, etc.) along with FBAR filings.

IRS CI tax investigations generally focus on false documents or false statements, evasion of taxation, aiding and abetting of the above along with other related tax and Bank secrecy (Title 31) crimes.

The tax reporting process for expatriates is extensive, including the basic requirement of signing IRS Form 8854 under penalty of perjury, which provides as follows on the last page of the form:

There are a host of reporting requirements and factual information that must be provided under Sections 877 and 877A, for all persons (including those with little to no assets), specifically including filing IRS Form 8854 which asks for a “boat load” of asset, income, liability and tax information.  A former U.S. citizen or LPR always needs to be careful that the information provided is true, accurate and complete.  See Part V of the form.

A summary of these crimes is set out below:

1.         Criminal Offenses under Title 26 (Federal Tax Law)

a.         Tax Evasion (IRC Section 7201)

b.         Filing a False Return or Other Document – Perjury (IRC Section 7206(1) )

(i)        Aiding or assisting in the perpetration of a false or fraudulent document (26 U.S.C. § 7206(2))

(ii)       Removal or concealment with intent to defraud, commonly related to untaxed liquor (26 U.S.C. § 7206(4))

(iii)     Compromises and closing agreements involving fraud or concealment (26 U.S.C. § 7206(5))

c.         Failure to File Return, Supply Information, or Pay Tax – (IRC § 7203 – Misdemeanor – up to 12 months imprisonment)

d.         Fraudulent Returns, Statements, or Other Documents (IRC § 7207)

e.         “Structuring” Transactions to Evade Cash Reporting (IRC § 6050I)

In addition to these tax specific crimes, other key crimes commonly used by IRS CI agents in tax cases, particularly international cases, include:

2.         Tax Related Criminal Offenses under Titles 18 and 31 (Not Tax Law Specific)

a.         Conspiracy (Section 371 of Title 18)

(i)        Elements of the Offense

(ii)       Penalties and Statute of Limitations

b.         False Statements (Title 18 U.S.C. § 1001)

(i)        Penalties and Statute of Limitations

c.         Perjury

d.         Mail fraud

e.         Principals and those Who Aid and Abet (Title 18)

f.          Accessory After the Fact

Finally, it is worth noting that the government regularly collects information from internet resources, such as blogs and e-mails as they build a case for criminal prosecution.  A former head of the Tax Division at the U.S. Department of Justice once told me that “e-mails and internet communications was God’s gift to prosecutors”.

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Instead of the government finding U.S. citizens living outside of the United States, as a low priority, the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations focused extensively on Swiss accounts opened by these individuals.  The full report can be read  REPORT: Offshore Tax Evasion:The Effort to Collect Unpaid Taxes on Billions in Hidden Offshore Accounts (February 26, 2014)

Some key excerpts of that report are as follows (at page 4):

. . . focused primarily on Swiss accounts held by U.S. residents, ignoring the over 6,000 accounts opened by U.S. nationals living outside of the United States. . . . It was not until 2012, that the bank expanded the Exit Projects to include a review of the thousands of Swiss accounts opened by U.S. nationals living outside of the United States.. . .

In addition, the report is replete with statistical data of accounts held by U.S. nationals living outside the U.S., such as the following:

Instead of concluding that the complex U.S. laws are leading to non-compliance by U.S. citizens residing outside the U.S. (per the Taxpayer’s Advocate Report), it seems to conclude to the contrary and the report highlights the virtues of the OVD program in non-compliance as generally willful with millions of U.S. citizens living outside the U.S. who are not in compliance, per the following statement (at page 22):

“The OVDP continues to provide valuable information for the United States in its efforts
to combat offshore tax abuse, although it is far from clear that effective use is being made of the
information generated. For taxpayers, it continues to offer a useful alternative to report
undeclared offshore accounts that, potentially, number in the millions.  According to the Taxpayer Advocate, “While 7.6 million U.S. citizens reside abroad and many more U.S. residents have FBAR filing requirements, the IRS received only 807,040 FBAR submissions in 2012,” signaling “significant information reporting noncompliance.”69  2013 Annual Report to Congress — Volume One, Taxpayer Advocate Service, “OFFSHORE VOLUNTARY DISCLOSURE: The IRS Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program Disproportionately Burdens Those Who Made Honest Mistakes,” at 229.

This report seems to get off track by not distinguishing between normal U.S. citizens who are living out their lives in their country of residence, as opposed to U.S. nationals who are intentionally attempting to evade taxes, filing false documents, not filing returns, or otherwise intentionally violating U.S. law.  All of these 7.6 million U.S. nationals living around the world are being lumped together by the government with U.S. resident citizens, irrespective of the facts of each individual and family.