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At a recent town hall meeting in Maine, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney was forced to defend the millions he holds in offshore bank accounts.

"Do you think it's patriotic of you to stash away your money in the Cayman Islands?"one woman asked.

Romney assured the audience he doesn't receive any tax benefits on his at least $8 million, but possibly up to $32 million, stowed away in the Caribbean.

But Romney is still getting other benefits --like lower management fees and foreign interest.

But these benefits might not last forever. The federal government is rolling out legislation meant to keep Americans from stashing their cash overseas.

In 2010, theIRSand theTreasury Departmentpassed legislation called theForeign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), and those regulations will force many foreign banks to divulge the identities and account information of U.S. customers with sizeable offshore accounts that until now may have remained hidden for decades.

Some parts of the legislation won't take effect for a few years, but this year, many American expatriates must divulge personal information about their overseas accounts to the IRS.

But let's back up a minute and lift the veil off those often scandalously portrayed offshore accounts, whether you have one, are considering opening one or just want to know more about them.

Offshore overview

An offshore account is essentially an account that you open in a foreign country, like a bank account or a brokerage account.

The rest is here:
Here's How The IRS Plans To Track Secret Offshore Accounts