Ethics on Boat Sale

[mike_s]

Those are institutional limits, private parties may do whatever they please; but when you deposit the 10k or better the institution must report it.

If you developed a habit of large deposits and then withdrawals some IRS flags would go off.

Simple solution to that. Don't deposit all the cash at one time or in one day. (or in one bank.)

Easy to break up the deposits into different banks or wait a day to deposit the whole thing and not raise any flags.

The next day Jim brought me a sack full of money. My biggest worry was getting to the bank without getting robbed. But they did say the Central Bank needed to know what any deposit over $10K was from. I told them I sold my boat and that was that.

While the bank has to report it, you don't have to tell the bank squat. There is no rule that you have to tell them what the deposit was for.

Of course telling them you sold your boat is easy enough, but you could have told them that for anything.

 

[Cacia]

is that true in Beliz?

The tax auditor/turned private CPA used the word "nexus" a lot.

 

[Hank49]

While the bank has to report it, you don't have to tell the bank squat. There is no rule that you have to tell them what the deposit was for.
Of course telling them you sold your boat is easy enough, but you could have told them that for anything.

Believe me, it's easier to just go with the flow here. Belize banks are the only banks in the world, that I've ever used, that require you to show proof of financial responsibility in order to open an account. And it's all bull**** just like you said. My daughter was told she needed our electric bill and two IDs to open her savings account in Belize Bank just last week. I told the lady, "we're putting money INTO your bank, not taking it out". She gave me a nasty look, so I walked out....hey, if you don't want her money, we'll go to another bank. Then she let her open the account with just one ID. It's stupid. And, as you pointed out, they accepted my word on the boat sale...no papers required, which could be falsified anyway. I wanted to tell her I just sold a kilo of coke.

 

[mike_s]

whoops... didn't initially realize this was a bank in Belize. Of course they might have different requirements. (I guess it's easy to assume here that we are always talking about places or rules in the US).

 

[SkipperJohn]

Those are institutional limits, private parties may do whatever they please; but when you deposit the 10k or better the institution must report it.

If you developed a habit of large deposits and then withdrawals some IRS flags would go off.

Guy I did my undergrad work with majored in accounting, took his CPA, went to work as an IRS agent. Did that for ten years then opened an accounting firm in Delaware (owned and operated by IE Dupont Corp) and made a kaboodle because he knew all the tricks. To keep current he has been recruiting agents every few years as things change. The G cannot compete with what he will pay...

There ya go. However OFAC and IRS may have different views. Either way I would not lose any sleep over anything so difficult to determine.

 

[matt_unique]

Sorry to hear about the scam artist. If he is associated with anything - company - association - etc. report him. Otherwise, just pass the word within your network to avoid that guy.

In terms of selling a boat, there is little you can do. When I sold mine last summer, I had the guy sign a purchase and sale agreement. This said person X was buying boat Y from seller Z for the price of $$ and the deal included the following goodies and a bank check of $$ would be delivered by a certain date. The guy never paid on time and disappeared. Some weeks later he reappeared, gave me some excuse, and I told him I had another buyer and whoever arrived with the check first owned the boat. The deal went through but really there is little you can do. A P and S agreement will help as does a final transaction document receipt signed by both parties. Something like the sale is "as is with no other guarantees", etc.

I'm glad it went through. It's the buyers responsibility to pay to get a survey and a person would be crazy to buy used without one in my opinion.