Criminal tax defense attorney Jack Townsend explains how he helps clients sort out the pros and cons of telling the IRS about your offshore account reporting shortcomings. It's a must-read if you are considering the IRS Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Initiative, which runs through August 31.

Meanwhile, Phil Hodgen, another attorney working on offshore matters, gives some comic relief to this grim business:

We needed copies of prior-filed FBARs for a client. (We didn't know whether one was filed, and if one was filed, we didn't know what it said.)

In order to get a copy from the IRS you have to pay a fee. The fee is calculated by the number of pages on the form.

OK. We need to know the number of pages of a form we've never seen? What the hell. We guess and send a check.

Bounce! Request for copies rejected.

We got a letter back saying we paid too much (by $2.70!) so our request for a copy was rejected and the check was returned. Helpfully they gave us the correct amount to pay.

Now we know how many pages there were on the originally-filed FBAR form. And we know that an FBAR was in fact filed.

Your government, hard at work!