Overview
In an article for the Journal of International Taxation titled "An Analysis of Boyd – Non-Willful FBAR Penalty: Does the 10K Apply Per-Account or Per-Report?," Nick Peterson reviews a district court decision on whether the penalty for a foreign bank account report (FBAR) violation applies on a per-form or per-account basis.
In Boyd, the US District Court for the Central District of California noted that the statutory and regulatory language is "somewhat unclear," but found the per-account construction to be a reasonable interpretation. Nick shares practitioner concerns that “the per-account construction disregards the plain language of the penalty provisions, mischaracterizes the statutory scheme, and ignores congressional intent.”