The Internal Revenue Service announced major changes in its offshore voluntary compliance programs, providing new options to help both taxpayers residing overseas and those residing in the United States. These changes will provide thousands of people a new avenue to come into compliance with their U.S. tax obligations. The expanded streamlined procedures are intended for U.S. taxpayers whose failure to disclose their offshore assets are non willful.

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:

- a streamlined procedure for filing amended or delinquent returns and

- 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.