So, I'm sure you all heard about a deal with US has struck with (some? all?) Swiss banks, that US citizens will have their accounts reported to the IRS. I think the last I heard is that they're only going to report some of them, so maybe it's just with one bank. So these [b/m]illionaires who have been hiding their assets in offshore banks have a period of amnesty to report these and pay taxes or they're going to get punished.

Sounds like the first of the lot is going to get punished: UBS Client Rubinstein Gets 12 Months House Arrest (http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=aXOlNhfEhTTQ)

I had been reading a story on a similar take with the Cayman's and other popular offshore accounts for tax evasion purposes. The Feds have been pursuing those areas as well.

I had been reading a story on a similar take with the Cayman's and other popular offshore accounts for tax evasion purposes. The Feds have been pursuing those areas as well.

Too bad they are not as rigorously pursuing the income tax for multinationals as well.
The official reasoning there is a bit strange too. Apparently actually taxing multinationals is going to cause them to move to another country so it is better to receive the tax they are not paying than to not receive it?


Eri

So it's better to receive some of the taxes than none at all?

I wonder if that really is the reason, probably most of them have a lot of law makers as friends and investors.

So it's better to receive some of the taxes than none at all?

I wonder if that really is the reason, probably most of them have a lot of law makers as friends and investors.

A multinational that pays taxes has financial spindoctors that to not do their job right. Any accountant worth his or her salt should be able to shift cost and profit around so that they do not have to pay taxes unless they want to.
That article in another discussion thread stated that Goldman-Sachs, which showed a profit figure in the billions paid about 14 million in taxes.

And let us be honest, if a multinational says that they want all kinds of benefits or they will walk away, what right do they really have to any benefits at all? It is kind of like how employers demand loyalty from their workers but refuse to offer it themselves in turn.


Eri

So, I'm sure you all heard about a deal with US has struck with (some? all?) Swiss banks, that US citizens will have their accounts reported to the IRS. I think the last I heard is that they're only going to report some of them, so maybe it's just with one bank. So these [b/m]illionaires who have been hiding their assets in offshore banks have a period of amnesty to report these and pay taxes or they're going to get punished.

Sounds like the first of the lot is going to get punished: UBS Client Rubinstein Gets 12 Months House Arrest (http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=aXOlNhfEhTTQ)

All this does is force them to move their money to different accounts in a different country. It's still common knowledge where you can put your money to hide it from Uncle Sam.

The US just closed down one loop hole, there's still plenty more countries they have to target and the US wont be able to use the leverage they gained againts Switzerland because its part of the EU.

All this does is force them to move their money to different accounts in a different country. It's still common knowledge where you can put your money to hide it from Uncle Sam.

The US just closed down one loop hole, there's still plenty more countries they have to target and the US wont be able to use the leverage they gained againts Switzerland because its part of the EU.

The list of countries where it is both profitable and safe to park your billions is rapidly decreasing.

And Switzerland is not part of the EU (vehemently not so. I would guess they are about as eager to join the EU as the average American is about trusting government. Possibly less.)


Eri

Looks like the tactic is working: IRS Sees Success In Anti-Evasion Campaign (http://www.forbes.com/2009/11/17/irs-amnesty-offshore-business-washington-tax.html)
WASHINGTON -- Uncle Sam wanted to scare people away from offshore tax havens. Those efforts appear to be succeeding.

Tuesday, the Internal Revenue Service Commissioner Douglas Shulman announced that more than 14,700 U.S. taxpayers have participated in a voluntary disclosure program to come clean about taxes owed on money held in offshore accounts. When the amnesty program ended Oct. 15, the IRS thought that about 7,000 taxpayers had participated.

How much revenue does this represent? Shulman will only say that the voluntary disclosure program, which yielded information from 70 countries, will reap "billions" for the U.S. Treasury. The bigger picture, he says, is that it deters people from trying to hide money offshore in the future.

"It shows that we are serious about piercing the veil of bank secrecy," Shulman told reporters Tuesday.

The announcement is yet another indication that the glory days for international tax havens are numbered. In recent years, finance has become more globalized, and officials in the U.S. and Europe have cracked down on tax havens. In addition, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development has its own initiative to shine a light on tax enforcement.

In the U.S., the enforcement efforts directed at offshore accounts heated up in earnest in July 2008, when the IRS issued a "John Doe summons" requesting the information of U.S. holders of UBS ( UBS - news - people ) accounts. Switzerland, famous for its bank secrecy laws, pushed back, but this August, Swiss and U.S. officials came to an agreement that would allow for the IRS to obtain information on 4,450 UBS accounts.