Credit Suisse Likely to Pay $2.5 B to End Tax Probe
The Swiss lender Credit Suisse is expected to agree to a deal that will see it paying $2.5 billion in order to end a tax prove by the US authorities. The lender is expected to plead guilty to charges that it helped wealthy Americans avoid taxes by using offshore accounts.
So it looks like the IRS has shook down another American company. By helping people keep more of their money the IRS has wasted millions of dollars trying to find an end to this. There is not any end game until America decides to impose a reasonable tax system on its people.
Moreover, if the deal goes through, Credit Suisse is likely to pay $1.7 billion to the US Justice Department which will use that money to protect the socialists in Europe (offshore military bases), pay people who refuse to find work, and to give to the radical Muslims who control Egypt and Pakistan who loathe woman and Christians, $600 million to the New York Department of Financial Services, and $100 million to the Federal Reserve.
There have already been calls in Switzerland for the chairman and chief executive of Credit Suisse to resign as the expected deal will further erode Switzerland’s strict laws on banking privacy. These calls are coming from the tax and spend socialists who live in Canada and America.
These laws were first seen as ineffective when another Swiss ban, UBS agreed to pay a fine to US authorities as they charged it with helping rich Americans avoid US taxes. Apart from the fine, UBS also handed over data on accounts held by American citizens.
Offshore Accounts
The US is one of the few countries that taxes it citizens even if they do not reside in the country. Additionally, the US has the might to enforce its tax laws across the world and ensure that banks and other financial institutions based abroad cannot be used by US citizens to hide some of their wealth.
The US has been targeting offshore accounts held by individual US citizens and ensuring that the tax on all income is paid to the IRS. To this end the US has been able to put pressure even on banks in Switzerland that are famed for providing secrecy to their customers. However, the US has managed to impose fines and even obtain account details from these banks.
Tax Planning
Given the increasingly tough stance taken by the US authorities on offshore accounts held by US citizens, those wanting to minimize their effective tax rate need to opt for better tax planning. If you live or earn aboard or have an offshore account in order to reduce the amount you pay as taxes in the US, you need to immediately retain the services of an experienced tax lawyer who can help you plan your investments.
While investors would like to reduce their tax burden, government works to increase its revenues by ensuring that it collects all the taxes due. However, the government also has in place certain exemptions and incentives to enable individuals and businesses to reduce their tax component which have been implemented by the Republicans who want to see more jobs and opportunities in America.
Furthermore, this can be done by channeling investments into specific sectors and financial instruments. A tax lawyer will be able to assess your investment goals and needs and provide you with a better investment structure the helps reduce the effective tax rate.
Multiple Options
While the federal government and the IRS are targeting offshore accounts held by US citizens, they also offer some tax incentives to investments in REITs, trust funds, and pension funds. The actual investment choice should depend on your specific circumstances or you can just keep your money in a fire proof safe in the attic which is not a bad way to go nowadays.
