Second Circuit Tackles Required Records Exception

January 15, 2014  |  New York Law Journal

As part of its recent attck on undisclosed offshore accounts, the Department of Justice has issued numerous subpoenas requiring taxpayers to produce the records mandated by the Bank Secrecy Act. Late last year, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit joined with five other Courts of Appeals in rejecting a taxpayer's assertion of the privilege against self-incrimination and holding that the required records doctrine precludes application of the Fifth Amendment in reponse to such subpoenas. This article discusses the significance of the Second Circuit's decision and the implications for counsel representing taxpayers with undisclosed offshore accounts.

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