IRS and Practitioner Comments on the Streamlined NonWillful Certification

Ironic that Streamlined was supposed to be used by ordinary people – and the SFOP version is supposed to be for those living outside the US, but none of those types of ordinary people would either have access to Tax Notes, or to the venue where the IRS answered questions – “…IRS representative and practitioners at the October 30 at the University of San Diego School of Law-Procopio International Tax Law Institute annual conference”.

Unfortunately no crucial information for you ordinary people living ordinary lives outside the US.
The IRS promised to do a better job of informing taxpayers. Yet, for those it claims as US taxable persons living outside the US, crucial information is only shared with expensive specialty tax lawyers attending expensive specialty conferences in the US.

see IRS Addresses Questions About OVDP and Streamlined Filing, 2014 TNT 212-7 (11/3/14) 

"Addressing the concern that the IRS may not accept non-willful certification for taxpayers transitioning from the OVDP to the streamlined program, Price [Daniel Price, supervisory attorney with IRS Chief Counsel] said the Service is concurring with non-willful certification in most of those cases. In the case of assertions that are clearly deficient, Price said the IRS is giving taxpayers another chance by requesting additional information. "We're giving taxpayers and their reps an opportunity for a do-over, but we do expect actual statements of facts," he said. 

Martin R. Press of Gunster, Yoakley & Stewart PA [attorney for Zwerner in the much publicized FBAR penalty case] noted that only U.S. willfulness counts for purposes of the streamlined program. For the most part, he said, what someone does overseas is not a factor, even if a foreign account is willfully unreported in the foreign country of residence. 

"The IRS is taking that seriously for purposes of the streamlined program," Price confirmed..... However, the IRS has left itself some wiggle room, Press noted. For example, deliberate evasion of foreign residence country income tax is a negative factor.

Meaning the taxpayer needs to be current with tax and filing obligations in his country of residence and not of "violation of foreign country's law".
USD,School of Law - 10th annual conference