Update: Swiss Bank Accounts; Tax Havens and Cheating the American Tax System

As was mentioned awhile back on Left Agenda, there are thousands millions of people and corporations that are evading taxation through the use of tax havens.

It’s not that hard really.  Here, watch an intern do it:

As stated earlier,

The BBC has reported that the United States IRS has requested the identities and account information of over 50,000 U.S. residents believed to have illegally cheated on their taxes.  For now, the UBS (one of the largest Swiss banks famous for this type of activity) is denying said information because it would go against Swiss law.

Well, now reports are stating:

The Swiss and U.S. governments announced a deal Wednesday to settle American demands for the identities of suspected tax dodgers, despite Switzerland’s vaunted bank secrecy. But they kept all details under wraps, including how many of the 52,000 names sought by the IRS from banking giant UBS AG will be revealed.

We don’t know how many are being revealed, but we know that some of them are.  That’s improvement, and that’s less tax evasion.

The best part is that no one knows whose names are being turned over, including those people that have accounts with UBS, so many people are turning themselves in while amnesty is still available:

UBS paid a $780 million penalty earlier this year and turned over names of about 300 American clients in a deferred prosecution agreement with the Justice Department. In that case, UBS admitted helping U.S. citizens evade taxes, which experts say is not a violation of Swiss bank secrecy laws.

So far, three UBS customers whose names were divulged under the prior agreement have pleaded guilty to tax charges in federal court. Hundreds of others holders of secret accounts at UBS and other Swiss banks have voluntarily come forward to the IRS under an amnesty program that requires payment of taxes and penalties but generally does not include the threat of prison.

That amnesty program ends Sept. 23.

News of the agreement has had an immediate effect at tax lawyer Sharp’s office: “Our phone has been ringing off the hook since this morning. Clients recognize that voluntary disclosure is the only way to avoid the risk of being turned over,” he said.