On February 24, 2010, the Swiss government announced that it will seek parliamentary approval to effectively overturn a Swiss Court’s efforts to block the release of information identifying U.S. accountholders at UBS AG (“UBS”) to U.S. authorities.  In the meantime, pending parliamentary approval, Swiss tax authorities are continuing to process U.S. requests for information on U.S. clients of UBS.

The IRS has given U.S. taxpayers participating in the IRS Offshore Settlement Initiative Program (“the Initiative”) until January 15, 2010 to provide additional information to the IRS concerning offshore accounts.  Thus, U.S. taxpayers with accounts in foreign banks have just over 2 weeks to make a complete voluntary disclosure of their accounts to the IRS or risk facing increased monetary penalties – which can exceed the value of the account – and potential criminal prosecution.  Taxpayers who failed to enter the Initiative may still potentially take advantage of the reduced penalty framework by filing before January 15, 2010. 

The IRS initiated a new National Research Program Initiative in November 2009 simply known as the Initiative: an industry wide detailed audit of employment taxes for 6,000 randomly selected businesses for the duration of the next three years. The intent of the Initiative has two aspects: ONE: assess systemic employment tax compliance; and TWO: collect assessments from delinquent employers.

In the wake of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Offshore Settlement Initiative Voluntary Disclosure Program and UBS AG investigation, there will likely be a surge in IRS Information Document Requests focusing on offshore bank accounts.  Offshore tax evasion remains a top enforcement priority for the IRS, which will continue to step up pressure on U.S. taxpayers with undisclosed offshore accounts.  The Information Document Request will be the next step in the IRS’s enforcement strategy. 

Taxpayers who missed the deadline for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Offshore Settlement Initiative Voluntary Disclosure Program can still file a traditional Voluntary Disclosure under the IRS’s normal filing strictures.  It is clear that offshore tax evasion remains a top enforcement priority for the IRS and the IRS will continue to step up pressure on U.S. taxpayers with undisclosed offshore accounts.  Voluntary disclosure provides U.S. taxpayers with previously undisclosed offshore accounts a way to avoid the harshest penalties and potential criminal prosecution.