Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Swiss Banks Seek Negotiated Tax Settlement Amid Reports of U.S. ‘Ultimatum' on Details


Swiss banks are urging their government and the United States to reach a negotiated solution to their dispute over U.S. funds hidden away in Swiss banks, amid reports the U.S. Department of Justice has issued an “ultimatum” on the handover of information on undeclared accounts of U.S. taxpayers with Swiss banks.

According to Swiss media, over the weekend of Sept. 3, U.S. Deputy Attorney General James Cole wrote a letter Aug. 31 to the Swiss government insisting that Swiss authorities hand over information on hidden U.S. funds in the country by Sept. 6. The letter specifically targeted Credit Suisse, the country’s second largest bank, as well as nine other private and regional banks, according to the reports.

Swiss media also that the Swiss financial industry regulator, was collecting information from the banks on all deposits by U.S. taxpayers of $50,000 or more between 2002 and July 2010.

Now that the implementation of FATCA has been postponed to the middle or end of 2013, the DOJ is reverting back to the process of requesting/summonsing information from other Swiss Banks; similar to its 2009 program which they successfully used against UBS; where the Swiss government was forced to eventually hand over detailed information on the accounts of U.S. taxpayers with the country’s largest bank.


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