Swiss bank Credit Suisse has begun informing American clients suspected of tax evasion that it will be passing their details on to the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
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In a notification letter, the bank told clients that it had recently received a formal request for help from the IRS, which believes that thousands of wealthy Americans are evading taxes by placing their money in Swiss banks.
“The IRS is seeking information with regard to accounts of certain US persons owned through a domiciliary company (as beneficial owners) that have been maintained with Credit Suisse AG,” said the November 2 letter, a copy of which was obtained by Reuters on Monday.
It is not clear how many clients have received the letter, which offers them two options. They can either agree to let the Swiss tax authorities have their account information and pass it on the IRS, or they can hire a lawyer in Switzerland and fight the process.
Switzerland is currently trying to strike a deal with the US to cover its banking sector.
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