Politics Daily: Honey, I Found Our Hidden Swiss Bank Account

by Joann M. Weiner

As part of a voluntary program that ended on October 15, some 7,500 Americans with hidden offshore bank accounts ended the game of hide and seek with the IRS. They told the government where to find their assets. Some of these hidden accounts were pretty hard to lose track. One had more than $100 million in it.
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The IRS had given these suspected tax evaders plenty of time to fess up. The agency opened a generous amnesty program in March and extended it in September. By voluntarily reporting the account, the taxpayers will still be subject to stiff penalties, but they may avoid  jail.

Any American who has an offshore bank account with more than $10,000 in it must report that account and pay taxes on the income earned on it. Failure to come forward is a high-stakes gamble. Those who decide to take their chances risk losing the entire account through penalties and interest. There is also a possible jail sentence.

IRS Commissioner Douglas Shulman has made no doubt about his intent to punish tax evaders and their banking enablers. Shulman said the IRS would be "scouring the 7,500 disclosures to identify financial institutions, advisers and others" who broke the law.

The IRS commissioner seems serious about going after secret bank accounts. As he said in August when announcing an agreement with the Swiss to share banking account information, "this is no mere keyhole into the hidden world of bank secrecy. This agreement represents a major step forward with the IRS' efforts to pierce bank secrecy and combat offshore tax evasion. It's an historic development in our international efforts, and it helps build a solid foundation for addressing future offshore issues."

The IRS plans to hire 800 agents and open or expand offices in places like Hong Kong, Beijing, Panama City and Barbados to help investigate these offshore accounts.

See the complete story at http://www.politicsdaily.com/2009/10/17/honey-i-found-our-hidden-swiss-bank-account/

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