by Vernon Jacobs, Guest Editor, The Oxford Club A 2010 Investment U White Paper Report

Editor's Note: The IRS is cracking down on offshore holdings. They want us to keep on believing it's illegal. We tracked down one of the world's foremost experts, Vernon Jacobs, to shed some light on U.S. regulations and offshore accounts. Vernon is a CPA with a focus on international tax law. He's the author of half a dozen books on international taxes, including the comprehensive Guide to Reporting Foreign Financial Accounts. And the timing couldn't be more perfect for this topic.

De facto is Latin for "in fact."

It's often used to describe the exercise of power that hasn't been legally or officially established. It also describes any other established practice that isn't an "official" law or policy. Such is the case with currency controls in this country.

Since the announcement of the near $1 trillion package of programs to stimulate the economy (and bail out the "too big to fail" institutions), fears of inflation have motivated many investors to anticipate that currency controls will soon follow.

Those fears are unfounded. Why? Because we already have currency controls.