USA Swiss cross border battle. US is trying to get the names of 52 000 wealthy US secret customers of UBS

UBS maintains that turning over the account names would violate Swiss privacy law and jeopardize UBS' license to stay in business.

UBS on Feb. 18, 2009 agreed to pay $780 million in fines and restitution for conspiring to help American citizens violate their country's tax laws by hiding assets-estimated to be worth at least $14.8 billion-from the U.S. government.
The bank says it has shut down the improper foreign-account business, and taken corrective measures to tighten its compliance and internal control systems.

Offshore tax abuse is estimated to cost the U.S. $100 billion a year in lost tax revenue.

http://cbs2.com/national/ubs.swiss.bank.2.950439.html
http://cbs2.com/national/UBS.AG.swiss.2.939843.html

UBS closing U.S. clients' offshore accounts

The Swiss bank UBS decided in July 08 to stop offering offshore accounts to U.S. citizens after it was targeted by a U.S. tax investigation which challenges Switzerland's famous banking secrecy laws, as it came under pressure from U.S. tax authorities.

U.S. prosecutors have alleged UBS helped clients hide $18 billion of untaxed American money in undeclared accounts. This amounts to around $300 million of annual unpaid taxes.

UBS spokesman said the decision to close offshore accounts for U.S. domiciled clients was taken in November 2007. The bank started 08 to close cash accounts of U.S. clients holding less than 50,000 Swiss francs.

As part of the investigation, U.S. authorities indicted UBS's wealth management chief last year.
The DOJ is looking into whether a group of 19,000 UBS clients evaded U.S. tax-reporting requirements through Swiss bank accounts.

http://sg.news.yahoo.com/rtrs/20090109/tbs-business-us-ubs-7318940.html


German Finance Minister Peer Steinbrueck has denounced Switzerland’s tax information sharing policies, claiming that Germany should be entitled to similar information exchange agreements as the US now holds with Liechtenstein.

The comment follows the conclusion of a tax information exchange agreement between Liechtenstein and the US on December 8, 2009 after years of negotiations.

Experts estimate that around EUR 300 bill is held in Swiss accounts by German taxpayers.

Steinbrueck is leading calls from a group of OECD countries, including France, that Switzerland should be placed on some sort of new "blacklist" of 'uncooperative' and 'secretive' financial jurisdictions, which are shouldering much of the blame for the meltdown in the global financial markets and subsequent economic downturn.
http://www.investorsoffshore.com/asp/story/storyinv.asp?storyname=34463

Liechtenstein, $7 trillion offshore banking tax evasion

Liechtenstein, a tiny principality of 35,000 people nestled between Austria and Switzerland, still discreetly advises the very wealthy around mahogany tables, even though it recently relaxed its bank secrecy laws under pressure from the United States.

Now, thanks to a U.S. tax probe into Swiss bank UBS and other pressure, a quiet revolution is brewing in the $7 trillion world of offshore banking, as banks realize that holding untaxed money can ultimately sting them.

http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSTRE4BB0GY20081212