The Swiss subsidiary of Deutsche Bank is cooperating with the IRS and Justice Department to disclose accounts belonging to or affiliated with Americans. U.S. law requires taxpayers holding more than $10,000 in offshore financial assets (such as bank accounts) to report those accounts or face huge penalties. Reporting must be done annually and is done on both Schedule B of one’s income tax return and also on an FBAR form (Foreign Bank Account Report).
According to the Wall Street Journal, “Deutsche Bank to Aid U.S. Justice Department in Swiss Tax Evasion Probe;” Deutsche Bank is cooperating with the U.S. Justice Department in turning over the names of its U.S. account holders with undeclared accounts. The Justice Department believes that Deutsche Bank has been complicit in helping its American clients dodge U.S. taxes.
The Wall Street Journal reports that Deutsche Bank’s Swiss unit has approximately 13,000 clients some of which include Americans.
Although the bank will avoid prosecution, it will still be subject to stiff fines. Those fines can be reduced if the bank can get U.S. customers to waive their privacy rights under Swiss law. Customers who refuse to permit disclosure will likely see their accounts closed and later face prosecution in the U.S.
On Thursday, August 7, 2014 we posted, "Swiss Banks Have Sent U.S. Client Data To The IRS! Swiss Banks Have Sent U.S. Client Data To The IRS!" Where we discussed that according to Bloomberg - Swiss banks will on the whole meet the deadline for delivering information on offshore accounts to the U.S., improving their chances of settling with the Justice Department this year.
As many as 106 banks have entered the Justice Department’s program to volunteer information on how they helped clients hide money from the Internal Revenue Service, in exchange for leniency. (See our post "Offshore Swiss Bank Account? This May Be Your Last Chance To File A Voluntary Disclosure!")
While some members of the Swiss Parliament continue to fight the repeal of Swiss bank secrecy laws, the IRS is expected to get the names of both present and former holders of Swiss accounts.
Some banks will try to mitigate penalties by providing documents to the Justice Department to support their claims that they encouraged clients to disclose accounts to the IRS through its offshore voluntary disclosure program.
"In some cases they’re providing the names of account holders
through a purported exception to Swiss banking secrecy
or pursuant to a valid request"
“Some banks are being very creative about what constitutes a waiver of secrecy privileges in order to turn over the account holder name to the Justice Department to reduce their penalties. They’re doing whatever they can to reduce the bank’s fine.”
Taxpayers who wish to take advantage of the OVDP
Must Act Quickly!
The US Can Use Swiss Data for Enforcement Actions!
The new agreement makes clear that “personal data provided by the Swiss banks… will be used and disclosed only for purposes of law enforcement (which may include regulatory action) in the United States or as otherwise permitted by US law.”
Have Un-Reported Income From a Swiss Bank?
Value Your Freedom?
Contact the Tax Lawyers at
Marini & Associates, P.A.
for a FREE Tax Consultation Contact US at
or Toll Free at 888-8TaxAid (888 882-9243)
Read more at: Tax Times blog
