Looks like this year's tax season will be UBS-centric

[Demosthenes]

_______________________________________________________________________________
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE TAX
THURSDAY, APRIL 2, 2009 (202) 514-2007
http://WWW.USDOJ.GOV TDD (202) 514-1888
UBS CLIENT CHARGED WITH FILING FALSE TAX RETURN
Boca Raton, Fla., Resident Hid Income and Assets in Secret Swiss Bank Account
WASHINGTON - Michael Steven Rubinstein, of Boca Raton, Fla., has been charged, via criminal complaint, with filing a false income tax return, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced today. Rubinstein made his initial appearance this morning before Magistrate Judge Barry S. Seltzer in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. The defendant was temporarily detained, pending a bond hearing scheduled for Tuesday, April 7, 2009, at 10:00 a.m. before Magistrate Judge Seltzer.
According to court records, Rubinstein is a chartered accountant who works for an international company that assists clients to build, buy and sell yachts. On or about April 9, 2008, Rubinstein filed a U.S. Individual Income Tax Return Form 1040 for tax year 2007 which he signed under the penalties of perjury. The tax return failed to report that Rubinstein had an interest in, or signature authority over, a financial account at UBS in Switzerland. Additionally, Rubinstein failed to report the income he earned on any UBS Swiss bank accounts.
According to court records, Rubinstein was the beneficial owner of UBS accounts in the name of Hybridge International Ltd., a nominee British Virgin Island corporation. From 2001 through 2008, it is alleged that Rubinstein communicated with bankers at UBS via e-mail, telephone and in person about the purchase and sale of securities worth more than 4.5 million Swiss Francs, the conversion of investments from U.S. dollars to British Pounds, the deposit and transfer of funds into and out of the UBS Swiss accounts and the repatriation of approximately $3 million into the United States to purchase property and build Rubinstein’s personal residence in Boca Raton. Additionally, it is alleged that Rubinstein deposited and sold more than $2 million in South African Krugerrands through his UBS Swiss bank accounts.

In Feburary 2009, UBS entered into a deferred prosecution agreement in which the bank admitted to helping U.S. taxpayers hide accounts from the IRS. As part of their agreement, UBS agreed to provide the U.S. government with the identities of, and account information for, certain U.S. customers of UBS’s cross-border business.
“Six weeks ago, through the efforts of the Department of Justice and the Internal Revenue Service, UBS, the largest bank in Switzerland, admitted to illegally helping United States citizens evade their income taxes, and disclosed names of individual taxpayers. We expect that this prosecution is just the first of the prosecutions that will be brought, as we continue to review the information we have received from all sources,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General John A. DiCicco of the Justice Department’s Tax Division. “The Tax Division is committed to helping the IRS to ferret out and hold accountable taxpayers who are hiding assets in undisclosed foreign accounts.”
“On February 19, 2009, we reached an agreement with UBS that included, for the first time, the disclosure of the identities of taxpayers that were illegally using Swiss bank accounts to evade U.S. taxes. Today is the first of the prosecutions resulting from that disclosure, but it will not be the last,” said R. Alexander Acosta, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida. “It is our duty to those who pay their legal share of taxes to ensure that others do not use offshore schemes to evade payment of their taxes.”
“Combating offshore tax evasion has been and will continue to be one of the IRS's top priorities,” said IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman. “Today’s actions show the IRS is committed to pursuing people hiding income offshore. Anyone in this situation needs to immediately come in through our voluntary disclosure process before it’s too late. It's better to come clean now instead of waiting and facing a heavier price later.”
Acting Assistant Attorney General DiCicco and U.S. Attorney Acosta commended the investigative efforts of the IRS agents involved in this case. The prosecution is being handled by Senior Litigation Counsel Kevin M. Downing and Trial Attorney Michael P. Ben’Ary of the Tax Division, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey A. Neiman.

U.S. citizens who have an interest in, or signature or other authority over, a financial account in a foreign country with assets in excess of $10,000 are required to disclose the existence of such account on Schedule B, Part III of their individual income tax return.
More information about the Justice Department’s Tax Division and its enforcement efforts is available at http://www.usdoj.gov/tax/.

[Burzmali]

I'm kind of surprised that the IRS didn't offer a chance for anyone involved in the UBS operation to right righteous for a fine and a slap on the wrist sentence. I'm sure they will collect more than they'll spend this way, but it just seems like a lot of effort.

[Demosthenes]

UBS Offshore Customers Offered Eased Tax Penalties
2009-03-26
By Ryan J. Donmoyer

March 26 (Bloomberg) -- The Internal Revenue Service said it will waive some penalties for Americans who disclose they hid assets in foreign bank accounts to avoid taxes, including U.S.
customers of UBS AG.
The tax agency, in a memo today, said it will move to collect only 20 percent, and in some cases as little as 5 percent, of assets in previously undisclosed offshore bank accounts. Normal penalties can exceed the account balance in cases of deliberate efforts to conceal the money. The penalty will be in addition to back taxes and interest for as many as six years and additional IRS penalties on taxes owed.
“We believe this guidance is a firm but fair resolution of these cases,” IRS Commissioner Douglas Shulman told reporters in a conference call. “For taxpayers who continue to hide their head in the sand, the situation will only become more dire.”
The IRS action has been anticipated by tax lawyers since the U.S. sued UBS, Switzerland’s largest bank, for the names of 52,000 current and former U.S. clients the IRS claims evaded taxes. UBS provided about 300 names though it has refused to provide the rest, citing Swiss secrecy laws.
Coming forward voluntarily usually allows a taxpayer to avoid criminal charges, although all applications for leniency under today’s initiative will be screened by criminal investigators, the agency said.

The rest of the article is probably on the Bloomberg website.

[Burzmali]

Okay, good ahead, show me up by proving that a government agency has a lick of common sense

[Demosthenes]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE TAX
TUESDAY, APRIL 14, 2009 (202) 514-2007
http://WWW.USDOJ.GOV TDD (202) 514-1888
UBS CLIENT PLEADS GUILTY TO FILING FALSE TAX RETURN
HID ASSETS WORTH $3 MILLION IN SECRET SWISS BANK ACCOUNT
Ft. Lauderdale Yacht Broker Second UBS Client Charged, First to Plead Guilty
WASHINGTON - Robert Moran, of Lighthouse Point, Fla., pleaded guilty today to an criminal information charging him with filing a false income tax return, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced. Moran appeared today before Judge James I. Cohn in Ft. Lauderdale and accepted responsibility for concealing more than $3 million in assets in a secret bank account at UBS in Switzerland.
According to court records, on or about Oct. 14, 2008, Moran, a Ft. Lauderdale yacht broker, filed a U.S. Individual Income Tax Return Form 1040 for tax year 2007, which he signed under the penalties of perjury. The tax return failed to report that Moran had an interest in, or signature authority over, a financial account at UBS in Switzerland. Additionally, Moran failed to report the income he earned on any UBS Swiss bank accounts.
According to court records, Moran was the beneficial owner of a UBS account in the name of Winter Drive Investments S.A., a nominee Panamanian corporation. From 2001 through 2008, Moran communicated with bankers at UBS via email, telephone and in person about the purchase and sale of securities, and the conversion of investments from U.S. dollars to Euros.
Judge Cohn scheduled sentencing for June 26, 2009. Moran faces a maximum sentence of three years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000.
“With the filing deadline imminent, most American taxpayers are filing their tax returns and paying the taxes that they owe,” said John A. DiCicco, Acting Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Tax Division. “Honest taxpayers should rest assured that those who hide assets and income from the IRS face investigation, prosecution, and steep fines and jail time.”
In February 2009, UBS entered into a deferred prosecution agreement in which the bank admitted to helping U.S. taxpayers hide accounts from the IRS. As part of their agreement, UBS agreed to provide the U.S. government with the identities of, and account information for, certain United States customers of UBS’s cross-border business.
On April 2, 2009, another UBS client, Steven Michael Rubinstein, was charged with filing a false income tax return via a criminal complaint. Rubinstein, of Boca Raton, Florida, is alleged to have failed to report income and assets in a secret Swiss bank account.
"Just two weeks ago, the Southern District of Florida and the Tax Division charged the first UBS client with filing a false tax return. This week, we charge yet another,” said R. Alexander Acosta, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida. “We will continue to prosecute those who use offshore schemes to avoid paying their taxes. If you are hiding income abroad, I suggest you approach us.”
“Combating offshore tax evasion continues to be one of the IRS's top priorities,” said IRS Deputy Commissioner Linda Stiff. “With each passing day, it is increasingly clear the IRS is committed to pursuing people hiding income offshore. Anyone in this situation needs to
immediately come in through our voluntary disclosure process before it's too late. It's better to come clean now instead of waiting and facing a heavier price later.”

Acting Assistant Attorney General DiCicco and U.S. Attorney Acosta commended the investigative efforts of the IRS agents involved in this case. The prosecution is being handled by Senior Litigation Counsel Kevin M. Downing and Trial Attorney Michael P. Ben’Ary of the Tax Division, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey A. Neiman.

United States citizens who have an interest in, or signature or other authority over, a financial account in a foreign country with assets in excess of $10,000 are required to disclose the existence of such account on Schedule B, Part III of their individual income tax return.

More information about the Justice Department’s Tax Division and its enforcement efforts is available at http://www.usdoj.gov/tax/.