A U.S. District Judge in Manhattan federal court has signed an order allowing summonses to be issued requiring several major U.S. companies to provide information on U.S. taxpayers who may be guilty of tax evasion.  The summons is part of a large-scale criminal investigation to identify anyone who participated in a particular tax evasion scheme between 2005 and 2013. 

Governments throughout the world are facing major budget issues, in part due to the lingering after-effect of the global financial meltdown in 2008.  With the demands for government services always growing, governments are looking for revenue anywhere they can find it, and many are finding it by going after those who have offshore accounts. 

A bank in Israel, Bank Leumi, is being targeted by the New York Department of Financial Services, which regulates banks in the state of New York. Why? New York regulators believe Bank Leumi helped facilitate tax evasion among U.S. citizens with offshore investments.  

The U.S. government has decided to go after tax evaders a bit more creatively by prosecuting the bankers that help make tax evasion possible. With tough new reporting requirements for banks (as well as reporting requirements for individual taxpayers with offshore accounts), the Internal Revenue Service is determined to stop people from placing money in offshore accounts to avoid U.S. tax obligations.   

In Switzerland, centuries old traditions make it a criminal act for bankers to disclose the names of clients. Switzerland does not consider tax evasion to be a crime, although tax fraud and money-laundering schemes are against the law.  Because of the banking laws in Switzerland, Swiss banks have long been a haven for people in the United States who want to keep their money offshore and obtain a measure of privacy from the United States government.