Credit Suisse Likely to Face Tax Evasion Hearing
U.S. authorities are continuing their efforts to bring Swiss banks that helped U.S. citizens evade taxes using offshore accounts to book. Part of this investigation is now believed to be focused on Credit Suisse. The bank is believed to have helped U.S. citizens buy gold bars to evade taxes. The bank is also likely to be accused of helping U.S. citizens transfer funds from UBS when that bank came under scrutiny.
What person says someone did something to evade taxes someone else says this is just a sound financial decision. Every American could be charged with trying to evade taxes since every American does exactly this every year. Even the Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner chose to evade taxes for a few years. In fact, he did not even pay them.
Big Money
While Credit Suisse is already in talks with the IRS, the amount to be paid as penalty is being negotiated. Credit Suisse is willing to pay up to $800 million, but under U.S. laws it could be liable to 50 percent of the evaded funds or $2 billion.
America is Broke because of Overspending
With the IRS working harder to increase tax compliance and targeting foreign banks, U.S. citizens with offshore accounts should take steps to come forward and voluntarily declare their accounts. This will help minimize the penalty and also help you avoid a prison term. With the U.S. authorities succeeding in targeting even major Swiss banks such as Credit Suisse, U.S. citizens can no longer rely of Swiss banking secrecy laws to help protect their accounts.
In order to avoid the stiffer penalties, you need to contact a tax lawyer as soon as possible so that you can file a revised tax return that acknowledges your offshore assets and ensures that the IRS does not penalize you later.
A tax lawyer will be able to ensure that you comply with U.S. tax laws even if your assets are held abroad. This is vital as the U.S. authorities are pursuing offshore accounts with greater vigor. They have entered into treaties with many countries to ensure that the details of accounts of U.S. citizens are revealed to the tax authorities.
