Face it. There is no escape and you banks are so unpopular now that any hope you had at generating sympathy is gone gone gone. We want to know your customers. We want to know when you knew them. We want to know how you met them. We want to know who they know that you know. Brace yourself. This might be a bit uncomfortable.
The U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is preparing to pursue other foreign banks for allegedly facilitating tax evasion by wealthy Americans following its high-profile case against Switzerland’s UBS, an IRS official said on Monday.
UBS, Switzerland’s largest bank, in February acknowledged that it helped U.S. clients conceal assets from the U.S. government. It agreed to pay a $780 million fine and identify some of its American clients.
Meanwhile, don’t think we don’t see you, UBS, over there in the corner trying to get the United States to just drop the whole thing and let you gently set your clients adrift before Switzerland signs a new tax treaty with the United States to address the problem going forward (i.e. after you’ve moved the biggest clients to offshore subsidiary asset managers).
IRS says set to pursue “other banks” on tax evasion [Reuters]
UBS Sucks. Props to my fans!
We are the Knights of the IRS who say “PAY”…we want…a Shrubbery
Considering how poorly the IRS is “incentivizing” so-called “tax-dodgers” to come-clean, I’d say their efforts at attacking the banks themselves will likely not accomplish much, as you’ve alluded.
Yes, paying back-taxes going 6 years and a what, 50% penalty on the highest account value is really going to convince wealthy Americans with offshore accounts to step-up. Har har.
“Blackadder II” Chains (1986)
The Best Spanish inquisition ever …
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0526717/quotes
They should incentivize these taxpayers by liberally applying criminal penalties. Make an example out of a few and then put pressure on the banks. Ensure that those who come forward are treated with discretion.
The Swiss just don’t get it. You can’t import a culture of secrecy and do business by it on U.S. soil. When it’s pointed out that this is criminal on this side of the pond, they exclaim righteously: “Leave the poor Swiss alone!”
Like HSBC ?
Its rarely noted that the Caymans are more transparent than the Swiss. The real shady dealings (meaning the largest of the shady dealings) go down in Switzerland, not the Caymans. Admittedly, the Bahamas, BVIs and Bermuda are pretty shady.
Why didn’t Hitler devour Switzerland during WWII? Was it more useful to him as a neutral state than as additional territory? It was an interesting “island” on the 1941 map of Nazi controlled Europe for sure.
Where is the list?
52,000 sleazy tax evaders, or 52,000 potential new clients?
Lists are for closers!
9 Def more useful. Esp as an economic window to the outside world. Remember all that gold that got looted and then deposited in Switz? Good conduit for getting funds to Argentina, another neutral country.
IBD layoffs happened today… 5 to 10% per group
In this country, tax avoidance is considered legal; tax evasion is not. Anyone who has performed the latter is fair game for investigation and potential punishment, if they are found guilty. Any bank who is suspected of aiding and abetting tax evasion is also subject to investigation and sanction.
Note that the IRS acts, in most instances, as judge, jury, and executioner. Good luck beating that rap.
Oh, and if capturing and fining a few hundred (thousand?) rich tax cheats will help reduce my tax bill in the future, I say have at them. Duplicitous fucks.
CREDIT SUISSE Houston is the new killing it.
Suck on my prestige, bitches!
Ok, let’s have them release the information – but can we please have the names of all accounts held by U.S. politicans first?
Cardinal Fang! Fetch… the Comfy Chair!
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LOBSTERWAGON
#9 asked: “Why didn’t Hitler devour Switzerland … Was it more useful … as a neutral state …?”
The Swiss never ask where the money comes from. This makes them complicitous, not neutral. They’re addicted to cash and co-dependent with dishonest people who have boatloads of it.
Hitler probably left them alone because they were more useful as unwitting (?) collaborators and conspirators. Hope the IRS puts them out of business while scaring the shit out of the other tax cheats.
@ 9 and 20 –
Although the Swiss would have you believe that their mountain redoubts and universal military training is what kept the Nazis at bay, the truth is that they were too valuable to the Reich as the world’s best “fence”. All that looted artwork and those melted gold teeth couldn’t exactly get liquidated in Berlin…