Amicas Group | Financial service

Amicas Group

Phone: +61 8 9330 8790

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21.01.2022 Good morning! In case anyone was wondering if they would receive or be eligible for the U.S. stimulus, the CARES Act was passed in the U.S. today and signed by the President. Refer to (starting on) bottom of page 144 (see attached). Or, wait and read Google sites... https://assets.documentcloud.org//final-final-cares-act.pd

19.01.2022 The New Year brings a new U.S. tax filing season. Mid-April (or Mid-June for expats) may seem like a long time away in January but it is important to start preparing now for filing your 2012 federal income tax return. The 2012 form TD F 90-22.1 (commonly known as the FBAR) also must be received by the Treasury Department no later than 30 June to avoid large penalties. I am already assisting some of you by please contact me if you are in need of tax support or preparation serv...ices. I am located locally in Perth for a meeting. Otherwise, you can email or call. My website is www.amicasgroup.com. My mobile and email are 0488 020 286 and [email protected]. Cheers, Jason Bitner, CA, CPA (U.S.), CTA, CGMA Managing Director

18.01.2022 New news on the 'catch up' procedures! If you need assistance, I am always here to assist. Cheers, Jason [email protected] or 0488 020 286 http://www.accountingtoday.com//irs-eases-offshore-volunta

16.01.2022 Another reason to ensure you're complying with FBAR filings. Willful non-compliance can have these extreme civil penalties and criminal penalties.

15.01.2022 Extension of US Tax Filing Deadlines This morning the US Treasury Secretary, Steven Mnuchin tweeted: At @realDonaldTrumps direction, we are moving Tax Day from April 15 to July 15. All taxpayers and businesses will have this additional time to file and make payments without interest or penalties.... This policy will be helpful to US citizens who live in Australia, because although those individuals get an automatic extension of two months to file their US tax returns, they still had to pay their taxes by the April 15 deadline.

15.01.2022 We are moving to serve you better with even more space! Our new office is in a similar proximity located at Unit 1, 90 Moreing Road, Attadale WA 6156. We hope you get acquainted with our new office soon. We have ample parking.

14.01.2022 Dear valued clients and business contacts, We are excited to be moved into our new professional office building in order to serve your needs better and be at a more central location. We hope that you will find it convenient and enjoy our new space. Don't worry, we won't compromise in providing you with excellent client service. For your convenience the directions to our new location are listed below. Suite 14, 1 North Lake Road, ALFRED COVE 6154 ... ***(CORNER OF CANNING HWY AND NORTH LAKE ROAD) From the City of Perth, travel South on the Kwinana Freeway. Then take the Canning Hwy exit and turn right. Continue along Canning Hwy for less than 5 kms until you reach North Lake Road. From Rockingham/Mandurah, travel North on the Kwinana Freeway. Then take the Canning Hwy exit and turn left. Continue along Canning Hwy for less than 5 kms until you reach North Lake Road. A few important notes: There is no cost for parking. However, the parking is limited in front of the office. Best to park across the street at KFC or on the adjacent side street. For entry to our office, enter through the door in the undercover parking gate. Then, go up the elevator to the first floor. Suite 14 is located in front of you as you exit the elevator. Please also note our post office box change. PO Box 3065, MYAREE 6154. Hope to see you soon at our new office!

13.01.2022 Do you have a U.S. LLC? Is it owned by a foreign (non-U.S. person)? Then, please be aware of the new reporting requirements and the very large and AUTOMATIC penalties for non-compliances! You can view the article in my techinical tax blog which explains about this new filing requirement. Link below.... http://www.amicasgroup.com.au/technical-tax-blog.html

13.01.2022 www.amicasgroup.com

12.01.2022 we have moved! From Monday 29 April 2019 our new office will be: Unit 1, 90 Moreing Road, Attadale WA 6156

12.01.2022 Current FBAR Guidance The FBAR form filing date will be aligned with annual income tax filing deadline of April 15 starting in tax year 2016. On July 31, 2015, President Obama signed a three-month highway funding extension bill called The Surface Transportation and Veterans Health Care Choice Improvement Act of 2015 (H.R. 3236, Pub.L. 114-41). Under the new legislation, the due date of FinCEN Form 114 (known as the Foreign Bank Account Report or FBAR) will be April 15 ...instead of June 30 and filers will be able to seek a six-month extension of the deadline. Similar to individual income tax returns, US citizens residing abroad will receive an automatic extension of time to file the FBAR until June 15, with an additional four-month extension available to October 15. Essentially, the new legislation conforms the due date of the FBAR to the individual income tax return filing deadline. Under prior law, the FBAR filing deadline was June 30, and no extension was available. The new deadline applies to FBARs for taxable years beginning in 2016. As a result, for filers required to file the FBAR for 2015, the deadline will remain June 30, 2016. For filers required to file an FBAR for 2016 and thereafter, the deadline will be April 15 of 2017 and of each subsequent year. The new legislation directs the US Treasury to modify certain regulations with respect to the maximum extension periods so filers can expect guidance to be issued that will hopefully address these open questions before 2017 filing dates. It is currently unclear when Treasury will issue guidance. Fortunately, the short-term highway funding bill did not include the proposal to revoke existing passports of US citizens with $50,000 or more of unpaid taxes (inclusive of interest and penalties). However, it is still possible that this provision could be included in the longer-term highway funding bill that must eventually be passed. The IRS will not impose a penalty for the failure to file the delinquent FBARs if income from the foreign financial accounts reported on the delinquent FBARs is properly reported and taxes are paid on your U.S. tax return, and you have not previously been contacted regarding an income tax examination or a request for delinquent returns for the years for which the delinquent FBARs are submitted. If you have questions about the new FBAR updates and need help with such reporting, please contact me by email: [email protected] or by phone: 08 9330 8790 or 0488 020 286. www.amicasgroup.com

12.01.2022 IRS updates voluntary disclosure practices for hidden offshore funds (4 days ago). Those willful taxpayers looking to catchup on outstanding U.S. tax compliances will be pleased to hear the announcement of the new (2018) OVDP program, after the recent closure of the old program in September 2018. The new procedures are effective for all disclosures after Sept. 28, 2018. The penalties have grown steadily stiffer for taxpayers who continue to hide their funds in foreign bank... accounts, and the latest version of the program may give taxpayers and tax practitioners pause. Under the new procedures, taxpayers will find that the cost of making a disclosure has increased, commented Barbara Kaplan, a tax attorney and shareholder at the law firm Greenberg Traurig, in an email from the firm. A number of things have changed: the number of years for the program, the application of penalties, a right to go to Appeals to contest the IRS findings after examination, the making of the offshore and domestic programs the same and the requirement to include an explanatory narrative. It also appears that the examination phase is more like a true IRS audit than just a compliance review. https://www.accountingtoday.com//irs-updates-voluntary-dis

11.01.2022 IRS chases US citizens in Australia - An article in the Australian Financial Review. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is scrutinising the tax affairs of United States citizens living in Australia with renewed intensity, as the worldwide battle to shore up dwindling government tax reserves heats up, according to local accountants. An unprecedented level of information about the affairs of US citizens living abroad will flow from Australia to US authorities from July 1 this y...ear when the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act takes affect. "The level of awareness is low, and the penalty regime for getting it wrong is high," Moore Stephens private clients partner Michael Dundas said. "Penalties average $US10,000 per unfiled return, and given that there are multiple forms required per year, can easily rise to $US20,000 - $US30,000," Mr Dundas said. Chatswood accountant Venetta Sacha said the prevalence of FATCA-style regulation worldwide is adding to the complexity of advice, and applying pressure to financial advisors to maintain their moniker of "trusted advisor". "We normally treat [clients] as residents here [in Australia] and don't pay attention to what their obligations are overseas," said Ms Sacha, who has a number of US clients impacted by the new FATCA rules. "However, that's changing as we're exposed to more changes and legal regulation," she said. Exposure is particularly high for US citizens with self-managed superannuation funds, because these are tax effective vehicles under Australian tax law, but the US treats income earned in SMSFs as personal income taxed the US marginal rate which can be upwards of 40 per cent. "Trusts on the whole are not used as extensively in the US, there is a lot of grey area," said Mr Dundas. Family homes are another problem area because they are not tax exempt in the US. BDO tax partner Mark Molesworth has witnessed a surge in queries from US citizens living in Australia, even if they departed the US permanently many years ago. "The penalties for non-disclosure are large, even where there is no tax actually payable to the IRS," Mr Molesworth said. Like Mr Dundas, BDO is encouraging US citizens living in Australia to take advantage of a voluntary disclosure program offered by the IRS. This program offers considerably reduced penalties for such disclosure. FATCA is expected to highlight cracks in the double taxation arrangements between Australia and the US. "The two tax systems [US and Australia's] don't sit as nicely together as say the United Kingdom's and Australia's," said Mr Dundas. Accountants fear public officials are too distracted to execute what they see as a number of "easy fixes" to head off problems. For example, Mr Dundas said the issue of SMSFs could be easily avoided if the Australian government would adjust the double taxation agreement to recognise SMSFs as a pension fund for US tax purposes. http://www.afr.com//irs-chases-us-citizens-in-australia-20#

07.01.2022 The final FATCA rules look to be issued and the ever-approaching beginning starts soon. If anyone needs assistance in becoming compliant with the IRS, please let me know. Best to fulfill all obligations now before the 'real' enforcement of penalties begin. You can contact me on [email protected] or 0488 020 286. http://www.treasury.gov/press-/press-releases//jl2296.aspx

06.01.2022 FBAR and penalties --- A great article which underpins the importance of filing FBARs and ensuring timely filings. I still receive feedback from potential clients that he/she may continue to ignore this filing requirement; though, because the IRS has amplified awareness of the rules in recent years, I expect the IRS to start assessing penalties across the board even to the unsuspecting or small taxpayers like myself. If you would like to discuss your situation or need... assistance in becoming compliant, please email me an introduction at [email protected] The Tax Adviser (May 1, 2017) - The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network has delegated to the IRS enforcement authority for the foreign bank account reporting rules, including the assessment of penalties for violations of the rules. Recent years have brought about a significantly heightened awareness concerning the potential imposition of penalties for failure to timely file a foreign bank account report (FinCEN Form 114, Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts, commonly known as FBAR).1 Before 2009, FBAR filing infractions were commonly resolved with relatively minor penalties. Then, under the potential threat of criminal prosecution, combined with the U.S. effort to lift the veil of secrecy at Swiss banks, tens of thousands of taxpayers were prompted to voluntarily pay a hefty "miscellaneous offshore penalty" in lieu of FBAR penalties in various iterations of the IRS offshore voluntary disclosure program. http://www.thetaxadviser.com//developing-strategy-fight-fb

06.01.2022 Amicas Group tailors our services to each client while remaining very efficient. In todays society, that efficiency means speed. More and more people each day open their phones or tablets and window shop from the comfort of their homes, offices, bathrooms, kitchens, etc. We are excited to announce we have added a new mobile friendly website which is easier and faster to navigate. Though, you still have the option to view the full site if you click the link at the bottom.

06.01.2022 Merry Christmas & Happy New Year The New Year period is a time of reflection and hope, for insight and self-awareness of what we have done well in 2013, and what MUST change in order for us to maximise our full potential in 2014. Thank you for your support in 2013. The Amicas Group wishes you a very Merry Christmas and Prosperous New Year in 2014! ... Our office will be closed from Monday, 23 December 2013 to Friday, 10 January 2014 (inclusive), re-opening Monday, 13 January 2014. Warm wishes from Jason and www.amicasgroup.com

03.01.2022 GDay current and future clients, friends and family! The end of the financial year is a timely reminder for families and entities to lodge their Australian tax returns as early as possible. Please contact me using the website details below to provide you with new or continuing taxation, business reporting or superannuation services. I look forward to providing you with the highest level of services. As a reminder, if you need to file current or prior U.S. tax returns (up thr...ough the 2012 U.S. calendar year), please contact me so we can arrange a meeting to discuss your options. www.amicasgroup.com