subject: 14,700 Flock To Irs Voluntary Disclosure Program [print this page] VOLUNTARY DISCLOSURE PROGRAM HAS 14,700 U.S. TAXPAYERS FLOCKING TO THE IRS
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) published information on the highly-publicized settlement reached with Swiss banking giant UBS AG. (UBS) The civil and criminal investigation into UBS and its U.S. Account holders came about in June of 2007 when the IRS has suspicions of gross negligence of U.S. Tax Law. The Federal authorities are in agreement that approximately 19,000 U.S. Taxpayers have used 52,000 UBS accounts to cover up $18 billion in assets or $300 million in tax liabilities.
UBS agreed to cooperate with the DOJ under certain conditions.The The IRS also brought about the Offshore Settlement Initiative Voluntary Disclosure Program as a way for taxpayers to disclose their offshore accounts and avoid the harshest of penalties.
U.S. Taxpayers that do not voluntarily disclose offshore accounts, whom the government decides to prosecute, will potentially face incarceration time and severe high dollar penalties if found guilty. The DOJ will likely charge UBS clients with willful failure to declare a foreign accounts, which is a relatively uncomplicated criminal case for the DOJ to prove.
Overwhelmingly, close to fifteen thousand U.S. Taxpayers flocked to the Voluntary Disclosure Program to avoid criminal prosecution for previously failing to report their offshore assets on individual tax returns and the FBAR Filings: (Foreign Bank Account Report).
Further, the IRS has disclosed the guidelines set forth in the settlement that has led UBS to offer up thousands of U.S. Taxpayer clients. The criteria serves as a guidebook to future investigations as the IRS and DOJ continue to investigate and prosecute U.S. Taxpayers who fail to disclose their offshore assets to the U.S. Government.
According to the IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman the UBS investigation was the tip of the iceberg.The U.S. Government has information on banking centers in over seventy countries not just Switzerland. The IRS and DOJ are investigating U.S. Taxpayers with undisclosed offshore accounts at many banks around the world and not just UBS clients. It is clear that offshore tax evasion is rampant and will continue to remain a top enforcement priority for the IRS and DOJ for years to come.
U.S. Taxpayers sheltering undisclosed offshore accounts are highly encouraged to seek professional counsel on the voluntary disclosure of their offshore accounts before the U.S. Government and/or the IRS contacts them.
by: Kevin Thorn
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