Offshore Account UpdatePosted in on November 13, 2015
The United States Department of Justice has created the Swiss Bank Program to make it possible for banks to avoid criminal consequences for helping U.S. accountholders evade their reporting and income tax obligations. The Swiss Bank Program creates different categories of banks.
Read MoreOffshore Account UpdatePosted in on October 23, 2015
As of July 2015, 15 foreign banks have entered into non-prosecution agreements with the United States Department of Justice. These foreign banks have had to agree to pay fines because of their role in helping U.S. affiliated accountholders to hide offshore accounts and to avoid paying taxes due on offshore income. The DOJ has agreed these banks will not face criminal charges -- but there is a catch that goes beyond fines. The banks have to turn over details on accountholders in the U.S.
Read MoreOffshore Account UpdatePosted in on October 9, 2015
The Department of Justice has created the Swiss Bank Program, which is essentially an amnesty program allowing banks to come forward and negotiate deals to avoid serious criminal penalties for helping to facilitate tax evasion. Banks pay fines to U.S. authorities and agree to provide details about their cross-border activities, as well as information about specific accounts in which U.S. taxpayers have a direct or an indirect interest.
Read MoreOffshore Account UpdatePosted in on September 25, 2015
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 MoreOffshore Account UpdatePosted in on August 28, 2015
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.
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