swiss bank account - American IRS trying to get names
So we all know that if you have a "swiss bank account" your money is "hidden" in that the Swiss won't tell who has how much. Well the US Gov't wants the names of those with swiss bank accounts, is trying to see if some, any, or all are avoiding paying taxes on the money in Swiss bank accounts. Article: part is copied here for you: UBS has been under investigation by the Department of Justice since last summer for allegedly helping wealthy Americans hide $200 billion in undisclosed offshore accounts to evade taxes. To absolve itself of criminal charges, the bank, one of the world's largest wealth managers, agreed to pay a $780 million penalty and release the names of 250 clients whom the Internal Revenue Service suspected of evading taxes. (See pictures of tea-party tax protests.) But that wasn't enough to end the bank's troubles. In February, the Department of Justice filed a civil lawsuit against UBS seeking the identities of 52,000 more Americans suspected of stashing a total of $15 billion at the bank. This time, the Swiss were having none of it. Citing bank-client confidentiality guaranteed in the Swiss constitution, Switzerland's government has forbidden UBS from complying. It has also threatened to "take control of the data at UBS" to prevent the bank from handing the accounts over to the Americans.