According to a report on CNBC.com the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations will be holding further hearings on the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) attempts to obtain the names of thousands of UBS clients who may have committed tax evasion through the use of Swiss Bank accounts. The hearing is scheduled for Feb. 24th, and the Subcommittee will announce on Feb. 20th the names of the witnesses who have been asked to testify.
As we noted in a previous post, in June of last year a judge in Miami, ordered UBS to turn over a list of its American clients who held offshore accounts at UBS. Although UBS said it would cooperate almost 8 months later the records have not been turned over. Apparently the IRS is trying to ratchet up the pressure on UBS to turn over its records.
Taxpayers who have Swiss bank accounts, whether at UBS or elsewhere are well advised to consult with a knowledgeable tax attorney to determine whether or not they should consider turning themselves in to the IRS pursuant to its voluntary disclosure program in the hope of avoiding tax fraud or tax evasion charges.
If you have an offshore bank account, and need advice contact the tax litigation attorneys at Brager Tax Law Group.