If you're a U.S person with an unreported offshore bank account, the IRS is making you an offer you can't refuse… again. Come forward now and you can avoid the Foreign Bank Account Reporting (FBAR) penalty, which can be as high as $100,000 per year.

The proposal, known as the Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Initiative (OVDI), is the third and final offer from the IRS before various laws come in to affect that will force foreign banks to disclose accounts owned by U.S. persons (residents and citizens). Come clean now and the Service will go easy on you. Make them come after you and pay the price later.

Show me the Money

If you think you want an offshore bank account, consider the advantages of an offshore investment account:

• Hold up to 13 currencies in one account
• Debit card linked to your investment account
• Secure online statement access 24/7
• Global access to all major securities markets
• Access to the best offshore funds
• Highly rated custody network for client assets

Differences between Offshore Bank Accounts and Offshore Investment Accounts.

If you missed the August HemispheresPublishing conference, it's not too late to get up-to-speed on everything you need to know about international banking, investment and asset protection.

Start planning now to attend the next Hemispheres conference in tropical paradise Ambergris Caye, Belize, November 9-12.

Editor's Note:  This month, international business attorney Joel Nagel explains the impact of a new tax law on banks worldwide -- and how their response could affect you and your finances.

FATCA, or the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, comprises sections 1471 – 1474 of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code (IRC). The code sections were passed into law in March of 2010 as part of H.R. 2847, a job creation bill known as the HIRE Act.  The law attempts to ensure that U.S. persons don't move money abroad without paying any taxes owed on it to the U.S. government.

Belize is a tiny Caribbean nation that has been quietly transforming itself into an international banking center, offering clients around the world a level of privacy and services once associated exclusively with major European banking centers.

"The surest way to avoid and minimize the difficulty for individual US persons is to open your foreign bank accounts before the [HIRE Act] takes effect on January 1, 2013, and move funds that you want to use to buy international assets out of the U.S. before then."  International Business Attorney Joel Nagel, in May's Hemispheres newsletter.

In January 2013, the U.S. government will radically change the way it treats international bank transfers by U.S. persons worldwide ... and it's drafting banks worldwide as its enforcement agents.

Editor's Note:  In the February 2011 issue of Hemispheres, international business attorney Joel Nagel wrote about provisions in a 2010 jobs bill called the HIRE Act that could affect your ability to move funds abroad outside the U.S.  The provisions require both U.S. and foreign banks to withhold 30 percent of any transfer to foreign financial institutions that don’t meet United States standards for information sharing, and remit that percentage to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) as a tax payment.  To get the payment refunded when you file your U.S. tax return, you have to show that the funds transferred were already taxed.

Interest in international banking is growing, as people around the world are looking outside their own national borders for investment, travel, and new life experiences.

The growth in international travel, coupled with the increasing use of the internet to make a living or help manage businesses from afar, have led to growing use of international banking and international trusts to facilitate more mobile lives.

Some people who never intend to live outside their home country also open international bank accounts and trusts, simply to relocate or diversify their financial affairs, rather than their lives.

International Banking Centers Serve Legitimate Purposes

Belize is a leading Central American international banking jurisdiction.  In addition to commercial banks that serve local customers, Belize has developed a small but growing community of international banks, serving customers from around the world in a variety of currencies.

Legislation such as the International Business Companies Act of 1990, the Offshore Banking (Amendment) Act of 2002, the Money Laundering Prevention (Amendment) Act of 2002, and the Trust Act of 1992 have officially established Belize as one of the leading international banking jurisdictions worldwide, incorporating the most secure features of international instruments instituted in Hong Kong, Panama and Cayman.

Long the champion and beneficiary of free trade and the free flow of capital, the United States last year enacted legislation that a growing number of commentators and professionals believe could be the start of capital controls in America.