Swiss banking giant UBS AG has reached a deal with the US Internal Revenue Service and Swiss tax authorities that will see it turn over the names of several thousand clients suspected of tax violations.
UBS announced that it has signed a settlement agreement with the IRS. Under the deal, and a related agreement between the governments of Switzerland and the United States, the IRS will submit a request for administrative assistance to the Swiss Federal Tax Administration seeking information about accounts of U.S. citizens maintained in Switzerland. It is expected that approximately 4,450 accounts will be provided to the SFTA in response to this request, and the SFTA will decide which of those accounts should be disclosed to the IRS.
The firm is required to provide information on the accounts covered by the treaty request to the SFTA and to send notices to affected U.S. persons encouraging them to take advantage of the IRS’s voluntary disclosure practice and to instruct UBS to send their account information and documentation to the IRS.
The IRS said that it will receive “an unprecedented amount of information” on US holders of accounts at the Swiss bank, as a result of the settlement. “The IRS will receive information on accounts of various amounts and types, including bank-only accounts, custody accounts in which securities or other investment assets were held and offshore company nominee accounts through which an individual indirectly held beneficial ownership in the accounts,” it noted.
“Information provided to the IRS through this process will be thoroughly examined for all potential civil and criminal tax violations. The IRS will assess any additional tax, interest and a number of applicable penalties,” it added. “The IRS will also recommend criminal prosecution in those cases where the facts warrant such an action.”
The agreement does not call for any payment by UBS. It resolves all issues relating to the alleged breaches of an earlier agreement with the IRS, and the parties will seek to dismiss an enforcement action relating to a summons seeking account information. The U.S. government will withdraw the summons, provided that UBS complies with its obligations under the deal.
“This agreement helps resolve one of UBS’s most pressing issues. I am confident that the agreement will allow the bank to continue moving forward to rebuild its reputation through solid performance and client service. UBS welcomes the fact that the information-exchange objectives of the settlement can be achieved in a lawful manner under the existing treaty framework between Switzerland and the United States,” said the firm’s chairman Kaspar Villiger.
IE
U.S., Swiss settle UBS tax dispute
IRS reaches deal to access as to accounts that U.S. investors might have used to avoid taxes
- By: IE Staff
- August 19, 2009 August 19, 2009
- 11:34