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THE EVOLUTION OF FINANCIAL INTELLIGENCE
THE 100 MOST
POWERFUL PEOPLE
IN FINANCE
32
WORTH.COM
VOLUME 23
|
EDITION 05
Los Angeles, CA
Leading Wealth Advisor
The Glowacki Group LLC
Michael V. Glowacki, CPA, CFP®, MBT, President
Donald I. Gettinger, JD, CFP®, MA, Capital Confidant
Are Swiss bank accounts
a relic of the past?
By Michael V. Glowacki
Every James Bond movie seems
to involve transactions in a Swiss
bank account. Certainly, secrets
are sexy, and Swiss banks have historically been protected by bank
secrecy laws. But the benefit of
these special privileges, along with
the attraction of holding funds offshore, may be coming to an end:
The U.S. government is now turning up the heat on tax compliance,
as the procedures for a new tax law
start to kick in.
U.S. income tax laws require
all residents and citizens to report
each year, on their personal income
tax return, worldwide earnings
from investments held both inside
and outside the United States.
However, it is estimated that noncompliance in reporting foreign
income costs the U.S. Treasury
$100 billion annually. To address
this issue, Congress in 2010 enacted
the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). The law’s
reporting requirements recently
became effective.
FATCA imposes new reporting requirements on both foreign
institutions and individual taxpayers. Starting this past July, foreign
financial institutions such as banks
are required to enter into an agreement with the IRS to identify their
U.S. individual account holders
and disclose their names, tax
identification numbers, addresses
and transactions involving most
account types.
This requirement also applies to
non-U.S. trusts and underlying corporations, which may identify interest you may have been unaware of,
especially if you moved to the U.S.
from a foreign country or have family outside the U.S. and are a beneficiary of their interests. Some types
of accounts, notably retirement
savings and other tax-favored products, may be excluded from reporting on a country-by-country basis.
Although compliance appears to
be voluntary on an institution-byinstitution basis, noncompliance
by a foreign institution may result
in the requirement that U.S. payers
withhold 30 percent of proceeds
from the noncompliant institution. In 2013, the Swiss Parliament
approved a change in Swiss law
allowing Swiss banks to cooperate
with United States tax authorities
as FATCA specifies.
Starting with their 2013 federal
tax return, individual taxpayers with
foreign accounts must file the new
IRS Form 8938 as an attachment
to Form 1040. IRS Form 8938 is
required for assets held in a foreign
country above a specified amount.
Although the form for individuals may be new, the requirement
to report foreign accounts is not.
U.S. taxpayers have previously
been required to check a box each
year on their annual IRS Form
1040, Schedule B, if they held an
interest in, or were signatory on, a
foreign account at any time during
the calendar year.
“Evading” U.S. income taxes is
illegal. Evading tax laws means not
complying with them. On the other
hand, “avoiding” U.S. income taxes
is not illegal: You may avoid taxes
legally by structuring your holdings and transactions to minimize
taxes while remaining in compliance with tax laws. Although many
strategies exist for avoiding U.S.
income and estate tax laws, they are
complex and may require significant
loss of control over those assets.
If you have accounts or investment holdings with foreign institutions, you should review your
specific situation with your financial
and tax advisors. If you have family
or close friends living abroad, or
you moved to the U.S. from abroad,
you may want to review your
specific situation with an international tax specialist. It is in your
best interest to identify whether
you may be listed as a beneficiary
of any foreign trusts and/or corporations. In short, were James Bond
a U.S. resident this year, he might
have to report some of those Swiss
banking transactions on his U.S.
tax return.
Hopefully, Miss Moneypenny is
reading this article.
live
“A change in U.S. law imposes
new reporting requirements
on both foreign institutions
and individual taxpayers.”
How to reach Michael V. Glowacki
grow
I prefer face-to-face meetings with prospective clients.
My assistant will happily schedule a convenient time
to meet. You can reach Beth Andre at 310.473.0100.
make
—Michael v. Glowacki
Th e G lowack i G rou p llc
Michael V. Glowacki
Donald I. Gettinger
About The Glowacki Group LLC
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Michael V. Glowacki, founder of The Glowacki Group LLC, which provides comprehensive wealth management
and family office services, has more than 35 years of financial, investment, tax and planning experience.
He began his career as a CPA with Grant Thornton, the fifth-largest national accounting firm in the U.S.
Subsequently, he was the CFO of a real estate company, a start-up venture and a family office. Mr. Glowacki
earned his master of business degree in taxation and became a certified financial planner. He is also a
certified professional coach and integrates coaching into his work with affluent clients, asking them relevant
questions to better understand their intent and provide tailored planning for their wealth management.
Donald I. Gettinger has over 25 years of legal, financial and investment experience. He began his career
as a corporate attorney, and later worked as a film acquisition executive at HBO, negotiating the licensing of
motion pictures. He then moved on to manage turn-around situations for several businesses, which included
handling bankruptcy negotiations and facilitating major management transitions. Mr. Gettinger’s path to
financial planning began when his parents developed degenerative diseases, requiring him to preserve their
estate and protect their legacy. He earned his juris doctor degree and is a certified financial planner. He also
earned a masters in spiritual psychology to enhance his coaching experience with clients.
assets under Management
$330 million
Compensation Method
Asset-based and retainer fees
Minimum Fee for initial Meeting
None required
primary Custodian for investor assets
Charles Schwab and Fidelity
Minimum net Worth requirement
$5 million
professional services provided
Planning, investment advisory and philanthropic consulting
largest Client net Worth
$150 million
association Memberships
FPA, NAPFA
Financial services experience
35 years+ (Glowacki)
Website www.glowackigroup.com
The Glowacki Group LLC
email [email protected]
11400 West Olympic Boulevard, Suite 1500, Los Angeles, CA 90064
worTh.com
310.473.0100
ocTober-november 2014
139
Michael V. Glowacki, CPA, CFP®, MBT
President
Donald I. Gettinger, JD, CFP®, MA
Capital Confidant
The Glowacki Group LLC
11400 West Olympic Boulevard, Suite 1500
Los Angeles, CA 90064
Tel. 310.473.0100
[email protected]
www.glowackigroup.com
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the evolution of financial intelligence
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