With the rollout of the 2011 Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Initiative (OVDI), the Internal Revenue Service is offering “incentives” through reduced penalties to those who have either knowingly or unknowingly failed to report income from monies in foreign bank accounts. This is the second such initiative in the last few years […]
Failing to disclose bank accounts and earnings to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is generally a practice that can bring legal difficulties, particularly in recent years when the focus has been placed on investigating offshore accounts. The IRS has vast resources at its disposal and does not hesitate to use […]
According to a Reuters report, bankers with HSBC conspired with a New Jersey businessman to hide bank accounts in India and avoid detection from the Internal Revenue Service. The indictment is another indication of the widening probe into offshore accounts, and into HSBC, by federal investigators. Vaibhav Dahake, who has […]
Recently the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has stepped up its enforcement efforts to ensure that non-profit organizations comply with tax laws and regulations. The Exempt Organizations (EO) Examinations office is tasked with analyzing the operational and financial activities of exempt organizations. According to a recent IRS report highlighting the accomplishments […]
In late 2009, officials with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) began to examine the issue of foreign vessels operating on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) in the Gulf of Mexico. The agency was concerned that these vessels were registering under foreign flags in an attempt to avoid paying the required […]
The U.S. Department of Justice recently dismissed a milestone criminal case against UBS, the Swiss-based bank that admitted to aiding U.S. citizens evade taxes on over 17,000 accounts. The case was dismissed-as negotiated-when UBS signed an 18-month probation agreement to hand over data on 4,500 accounts and pay a fine […]
In 2009, the Justice Department (DOJ) announced it would crackdown on offshore accounts. The DOJ would be dedicating more if its efforts and resources to finding individuals and companies who use offshore tax havens to avoid paying income taxes in the United States. The crackdown was announced, in part, because […]
Quellos Group founder and CEO Jeff Greenstein and attorney Charles H. Wilk were indicted in June 2009 for aiding in the filing of a false tax return and conspiracy to defraud the government. They pleaded guilty in September of this year. Quellos’ clients have paid $240 million in back taxes. […]
In an unusual legal move, the U.S. government has successfully demanded information on wealthy Americans who allegedly used the confidentiality of the Swiss government to avoid taxes. Switzerland has traditionally been a favorable economic environment for both wealthy individuals and foreign corporations. The Internal Revenue Service filed a lawsuit against […]
ZURICH – Switzerland’s Chairman of Financial Regulation, Eugen Haltiner, announced that he will step down from his position at the end of the year. The Swiss government issued a statement thanking the Chairman for his services and stating that it will be nominating a replacement in November. Mr. Haltiner’s tenure […]