Swiss Parliament Temporarily Split on Whether to Allow UBS Disclosure

June 8 - The lower house of the Swiss Parliament voted today to continue to block the UBS agreement to disclose the names of its U.S. accountholders, despite a vote in favor of disclosure by the upper house last week. The bill will now enter the reconciliation process, which could potentially delay passage until the last day of the session, June 18. We believe that the bill’s failure in the lower house was political posturing, and that the disclosure will be approved well before the August 20 deadline set by the IRS.

Therefore, if you have an undisclosed offshore account, there is still time to come into compliance with the IRS and enter the Voluntary Disclosure Program and avoid potential criminal exposure and excessive penalties.