Tax Controversies
Tax Crimes
Tax Litigation
White Collar Defense
Articles
Speeches
LL.M.,
New York University,
1996
J.D.,
New York University,
1996,
summa cum laude
M.S.,
State University of New York at Albany,
1991
B.S.,
State University of New York at Albany,
1987,
summa cum laude
District of Columbia
New York State Bar
U.S. Tax Court
U.S. Court of Federal Claims
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California
American Bar Association (Section of Taxation and Section of Criminal Justice) District of Columbia Bar Association (Taxation Section) Former Member, American Institute of Certified Public Accountants Former Member, New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants
|
|
James N. Mastracchio is a member practicing in Caplin & Drysdale’s Washington, D.C. and New York offices. He represents individuals and corporations nationwide in complex civil tax disputes and criminal tax investigations.
Services
Mr. Mastracchio handles a broad range of administrative civil tax disputes before the U.S. Internal Revenue Service and state tax authorities. He has successfully represented clients involved in income, estate, employment, and excise tax matters. Mr. Mastracchio routinely handles similar matters that involve criminal tax fraud investigations and criminal tax prosecutions.
Highlights
Most recently, Mr. Mastracchio has represented clients considering State and Federal Voluntary Disclosures. He counsels clients who have accounts with LGT Group, UBS Private Banking, Credit Suisse Global and other financial institutions located in Switzerland and other off-shore jurisdictions. Furthermore, he represents clients under audit or investigations resulting from undeclared foreign accounts. Mr. Mastracchio also provides advice regarding various informational reporting requirements including:
-
Treasury FBAR (T.D. 90-22.1 Foreign Bank Account Reporting)
-
IRS Form 3520 (Annual Return to Report Transactions with Foreign Trusts and Receipt of Foreign Gifts)
-
IRS Form 5471 (Informational Return of U.S. Persons With Respect to Certain Foreign Corporation)
Selected Recent Publications
Mr. Mastracchio has written and commented extensively on topics relating to Voluntary Disclosures and criminal tax enforcement. His more recent articles and comments in the media include:
- Voluntary Offshore Account Disclosures Nearly Twice Initial Estimate, Shulman Says, CCH Federal, 2009 TAXDAY (November 18, 2009)
- IRS Considering Additional Deadline in Voluntary Disclosure Program, Official Says, Tax Analysts (October 27, 2009)
- Deadlines Approach for Taxpayers on Extension, Offshore Disclosure Initiative, CCH Standard Federal Tax Reports, Vol. 96, No. 43 (October 8, 2009)
- IRS Extends Deadline for Offshore- Bank Users to Confess, USA Today (September 21, 2009)
- Swiss To Share UBS Account Information; IRS May Gain Access to 4,450 Accounts, CCH Standard Federal Tax Reports, Vol. 96, No. 34 (August 27, 2009)
- UBS to Disclose Details of 4,450 Accounts in US Tax Evasion Case, The Independent (August 20, 2009)
- U.S., Switzerland Resolve UBS Dispute; Number of Account Holders to Be Revealed Unclear, CCH-News Federal, 2009 TAXDAY (August 20, 2009)
- IRS, UBS Reach Tax Probe Settlement; Terms Not Yet Disclosed, CCH Standard Federal Tax Reports, Vol. 96, No. 36, Report 35 (August 20, 2009)
- IRS and UBS Settle John Doe Summons With Substantially All Accounts Being Released, Press Release (August 19, 2009)
- IRS Extends FBAR Deadline; Reiterates Foreign Hedge Fund Reporting Requirement, Federal Tax Weekly, Issue No. 27 (July 9. 2009)
- IRS Extends Deadline for Filing FBAR, WebCPA (June 26, 2009)
- IRS Issues Second Round of Frequently Asked Questions for Voluntary Disclosure of Off Shore Accounts, Press Release (June 25, 2009)
- Connecticut and Maryland Offer State Tax Amnesty Programs, The National Law Journal (May 28, 2009)
- States Offer Attractive Voluntary Disclosure Options For Off-Shore Account Holders, Press Release (May 27, 2009)
- IRS Releases FAQs on Offshore Compliance Initiative; Monitors Amended Returns for “Quiet” Disclosures, CCH Standard Federal Tax Reports, Vol. 96, No. 22, Report 21 (May 14, 2009)
- IRS Issues Frequently Asked Questions for Voluntary Disclosure of Offshore Accounts, Press Release (May 7, 2009)
- US Offers Tax Deal for Holders of Off Shore Accounts, AFP (March 29, 2009)
- New Lenient IRS Penalty Structure Encourages Voluntary Disclosure of Offshore Bank Accounts, Reuters (March 26, 2009)
- IRS Seduces Off Shore Account Holders, Press Release (March 26, 2009)
- Come Clean, Tax Lawyer Advises US Expats, The Swisster (March 2, 2009) PDF version
- The IRS’s New Whistleblower Program – Another Enforcement Alert for International Business, Mondaq Business Briefing (July 25, 2008)
- Best Practices for Managing Tax Investigations, Inside The Minds: Common Issues in White Collar Law, Thomson West Publishing (2007)
Prior Professional Experience
Prior to his law career, Mr. Mastracchio was a Certified Public Accountant with a national firm focusing on compliance issues. As a result of his in-depth experience in the accounting field, he is often involved in complex civil litigation cases involving accounting practice and procedural issues, allegations of accounting malpractice, and defending matters before the IRS Office of Professional Responsibility.
Professional Activities
-
Chair, Monetary Penalties and Forfeitures Subcommittee, American Bar Association’s Civil and Criminal Tax Penalties Section
-
Committee Member, New York State Bar Association’s Tax Compliance, Practice and Procedure Committee
-
Frequent panelist for professional organizations on various topics, including, State and Federal Voluntary Disclosures, electronic discovery, attorney-client and work-product privileges, Bank Secrecy Act and related regulatory reporting, FASB FIN 48 disclosure and Internal Revenue Service practice and procedure
|