The Tax Times: Criminal Score Card Not Good For Offshore Account Holders!

Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Criminal Score Card Not Good For Offshore Account Holders!

In our previous post UBS Criminal Casualties, so Far and More Guilty Pleas Over Offshore Accounts in the Works! regarding the U.S. and Swiss Reach a Deal on American Tax Evaders, the IRS hunt for offshore income and accounts continues unabated.

Now in the wake of H. Ty Warner, the billionaire creator of Beanie Babies plush toys, pleaded guilty last month to evading taxes on secret Swiss bank accounts that held as much as $107 million; Bloomberg has published Offshore Tax Scorecard: UBS, Credit Suisse, HSBC, Baer which is a must read for US Taxpayers who have still not addressed their undeclared income from their foreign accounts.

Warner, 69, is the most prominent defendant in a U.S. crackdown since 2008 on offshore tax evasion that led to charges against about 70 American taxpayers and 30 bankers, lawyers and advisers.

The IRS' hunt for offshore income and accounts is intensifying. See Liechtensteinische Landesbank Turned Over 200 Clients to US government. .

For those who don’t come forward before they are found, being found can be awfully painful!

The advisers aren’t home free either, and that may be the most notable trend to note. It’s clear the IRS and prosecutors are looking more and more to advisers. See Offshore Tax Scorecard: UBS, Credit Suisse, HSBC, Baer and See Also, Swiss Lawyer Co-Operating With IRS Hunt For Offshore Account Holders! .
There are probably many other cases in the works. The IRS now has many sources of information. See No Safe Havens for Offshore Tax Cheats ... The IRS, Australia & UK Audit Leaked Information! What’s more, with the unveiling of FATCA, the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, there’s no question that even more data is on the way.

Are You One of the > 7 MM Americans
with Unreported Foreign Bank Income?