News & Events

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the U.S. Department of Justice have been going after Swiss banks for years for allegedly facilitating tax evasion among U.S. residents. The Swiss Bank Program was created in order to encourage banks to come forward, pay a fine and report account information voluntarily to the IRS. Banks that came forward could avoid criminal prosecution.

Sam Wyly and his brother Charles Wyly have been found guilty of tax fraud and are subject to potentially serious penalties. Sam Wyly is a former billionaire who is now in bankruptcy court. During his bankruptcy court proceedings held in May, a U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge found that the two brothers had intentionally tried to evade taxes through the use of a complex and elaborate offshore non-grantor trust structure.

Employers are required to withhold employment taxes from the paychecks of employees who work for them. Employers must file regular reports and pay the taxes that are due. In some cases, however, employers fail to fulfill withholding obligations and fail to make reports and payments on time. Employers beware: The Internal Revenue Service and the Department of Justice is now teaming up to crackdown on failure to comply with employment tax rules.

Mossack Fonseca is a law firm in Panama whose massive database of client records was recently leaked. The leak, referred to as The Panama Papers, revealed tax evasion and money laundering on a global scale. The Panama Papers included the names and information of high-profile politicians and wealthy individuals from countries all over the world. The leak provided an unprecedented glimpse into the inner workings of law firms, banks and investors with offshore accounts.