Berner Kantonalbank AG has entered into a non-prosecution agreement.  The Department of Justice has agreed not to prosecute Berner Kantonalbank AG for tax-related offenses under Titles 18 and 26 of the United States Code or for monetary transaction offenses under Sections 5314 and 5322 of Title 31 of the U.S. Code.  In exchange for not being prosecuted by the DOJ, Berner Kantonalbank AG has agreed to provide detailed information on U.S.-affiliated accounts. Read More

The acting attorney general for the Tax Division of the Justice Department is pushing the U.S. Senate to ratify a tax treaty signed in September of 2009.  The treaty was between the United States and Switzerland, and it would amend Article 26 of the existing Swiss-U.S. tax treaty to implement the OECD standard from the OECD Model Tax Convention.   The OECD standard requires the contracting countries to exchange “such information as is foreseeably relevant” for carrying out the provisions of the tax treaty and enforcing domestic tax laws. Read More

Finter Bank in Zurich has become the latest financial institution to take advantage of the Swiss Bank Program. The program, announced in August of 2013, allows for Swiss banks to avoid criminal prosecution by paying fines and cooperating with authorities to provide information on accountholders. Read More

Swiss banks have long provided a haven for people who want to keep money offshore and take advantage of Switzerland’s strict privacy laws. The U.S. government, however, has been cracking down on investors and financial institutions involved with hiding offshore funds for purposes of tax avoidance.  Read More