The proposed “Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act of 2009”, if passed in its current form, could empower and equip the U.S. Treasury Department to find and prosecute U.S. individuals who hide assets overseas from the Internal Revenue Service. Harper Meyer’s Steve Hagen states he sees nothing bad in the bill for compliant taxpayers or foreign entities. This bill is seen as the government’s response to the UBS tax evasion debacle. Some say the expense of complying with the current anti-money laundering laws could potentially dwarf the cost of complying with the new law. Steve Hagen finds the bill more problematic in its reporting requirement. The new law would require anyone assisting an U.S. individual – including lawyers and accountants – to report to the Internal Revenue Service that they assisted that person. That part, says Hagen, will have to be ‘massaged’ a bit. For the full article go to: http://www.dailybusinessreview.com