Posts tagged as:

UBS

First UBS, Now HSBC?

27 January 2011

You knew that it would be just a matter of time before the IRS set its sights on a new bank. Fresh off of victories involving UBS and Deutsche Bank related to tax fraud/tax evasion, the IRS has now targeted an “unknown British bank” for its role in a tax evasion scheme. As before, the [...]

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Deutsche Bank Settles Tax Shelter Case

22 December 2010

The IRS is on a tear with the big banks. First UBS, now Deutsche Bank (DB). The eight year investigation into UBS’ role in assisting US taxpayers commit tax fraud has been resolved and the tab isn’t as bad as originally feared. DB agreed to pay $553 million in fees and penalties; that amount represents [...]

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IRS Gives UBS A Pass

27 August 2010

So maybe it is a kindler, gentler IRS after all… The IRS has announced that it will drop its civil suit against the Swiss-based UBS, despite the fact that the bank is not technically in compliance with an existing agreement. In a show of not-so-totally surprising deference to the Swiss government, the IRS indicated that [...]

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I Told You So.

7 July 2010

So, I don’t say that on the blog very often (though my brothers would likely tell a different story from our years at home). But I’m sooo saying it now. When the IRS won its prominent battle with UBS, I said (as did many tax and finance bloggers) that a win would only lead to [...]

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Parliament Still Finding Holes in Swiss/US Accord

1 June 2010

A special panel of the Swiss Parliament has concluded its 15 month investigation into the government’s handling of what has been referred to as a “tax crisis”: the UBS collapse amid allegations of tax evasion. The panel has heavily criticized the government for its response to the crisis, saving its harshest rebukes for Finance Minister [...]

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UBS Informant Must Report to Prison On Time

6 January 2010

A federal judge has declined Bradley Birkenfeld’s request for leniency. Birkenfeld must report to prison on Friday, January 8, as scheduled, to serve his 40-month prison term. Birkenfeld pleaded guilty last year to helping many of his clients, including billionaire Igor Olenicoff, evade taxes. Olenicoff pleaded guilty in 2007 to filing a false tax return; [...]

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UBS Whistleblower Wants Shorter Sentence

30 December 2009

What would it take for you to turn in your clients? Would 30% of the take do it? What if it meant jail time? These are all things that Bradley Birkenfeld must have considered before approaching the IRS two years ago to turn in tax cheats at UBS. And he did it anyway. Now, Birkenfeld [...]

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Shulman Talks International Tax At GWU

10 December 2009

Today, the IRS published the “Prepared Remarks of Commissioner Douglas Shulman before the 22nd Annual George Washington University International Tax Conference.” You can read the whole speech here. But for those of you who don’t have the time to read the 2703 word speech, here’s a summary: Shulman started out with an update on three [...]

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UBS Set To Turn Over First Set of Names

25 November 2009

About 500 families may have a little bit less to be thankful for this morning: Swiss tax authorities have announced that they have notified the first UBS 500 clients whose names will be turned over to US government officials. The 500 clients are the first of 4,450 names to be released under an agreement reached [...]

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So Tell Me, Taxpayer: Do You Feel Lucky?

18 November 2009

It was a question posed to US taxpayers by the IRS in the wake of the UBS scandal: do you feel lucky? The US offered US taxpayers the opportunity to voluntarily disclose offshore bank accounts as part of an amnesty program earlier this year. The choice? Come forward now and escape criminal prosecution or take [...]

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