Voluntary Compliance Programs Boosting Disclosures of Offshore Income, IRS Says

Stepped-up efforts by the IRS to identify tax evasion outside the United States, including increased information-sharing with other countries, better use of third-party information, and voluntary reporting compliance programs, has led to an increase in voluntary disclosures by taxpayers of offshore income, a senior IRS official said Oct. 17.

Speaking at the 28th annual UCLA Tax Controversy Institute, Gary Gray, deputy chief counsel (Procedure and Administration), said that through the end of 2011, the IRS had received 33,000 voluntary disclosures through its voluntary compliance programs, leading to the payment of about $5 billion in back taxes and penalties.

Moreover, the ...