Leads from the US case against Swiss bank UBS have helped Washington to find “numerous banks” and other promoters of tax evasion in Asia and the Middle East.
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swissinfo.ch and agencies
United States tax chief Douglas Shulman made the announcement on Thursday as part of his remarks to a tax conference in Washington, DC.
“This information has already proved invaluable in supplementing and corroborating prior leads, as well as developing new leads involving numerous banks,” Shulman said .
He also said the agency was considering another amnesty-like program to lure wealthy tax evaders – similar to the one that ended last October and led to 15,000 individuals declaring assets.
In 2008, the US Internal Revenue Service issued a summons on UBS demanding the release of confidential information on clients the agency suspected of tax evasion.
UBS agreed to pay $780 million and name some US clients to resolve criminal fraud charges against it.
In 2009, Switzerland and the US defined criteria for examining the administrative assistance request concerning tax offences.
The Federal Tax Administration examined about 4,450 UBS client accounts and supplied information to the US, whose tax authorities withdrew their summons in November.
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John Doe summons against UBS withdrawn
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In a statement on Tuesday, the ministry said the withdrawal followed the substantial delivery of administrative assistance cases by Switzerland. By the end of August, the Federal Tax Administration had examined about 4,450 UBS client accounts under the agreement with the US. The delivery of data by Switzerland was largely completed by mid-November after expiry…
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In an interview with swissinfo.ch, Roth said he hopes the US and Switzerland will agree to a revised double-taxation treaty that reflects the standards of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) model tax convention. Bankers in Switzerland say that secrecy is not the industry’s only selling point. But as the government renegotiates double-taxation…
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The authorities in Bern and the country’s largest bank say disclosure would violate Switzerland’s sovereignty and international law. The reaction from the Swiss capital came in a 60-page federal court filing in Florida where the US Internal Revenue Service has demanded the identities of the suspects, who – according to the IRS – have about…
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Testifying before a congressional hearing, Mark Branson, chief financial officer for UBS global wealth management and business banking, added that UBS was working with the US government to identify US clients who may have engaged in tax fraud. Branson was one of two UBS executives who appeared before the Senate subcommittee in Washington on Thursday.…
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Over the past few years, UBS has garnered a lot of negative press. Extraordinary general assemblies and public protests have been occuring with increasing frequency.
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If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.