The Internal Revenue Service’s investigation into Americans who use foreign banks to evade taxes has all the elements of a Hollywood thriller.
Criminal indictments that have come from the investigation detail complex financial deals, complete with secret communications and people traveling to Hong Kong, Switzerland and the Cayman Islands to have secret meetings with their bankers. In turn, Swiss bankers traveled to the United States, posing as tourists, to advise clients on how to avoid tax laws.
The aggressive investigation by the IRS has turned up the heat on thousands of people who allegedly used the foreign banks to hide their money so they wouldn’t have to pay taxes.
In the middle of its investigation, the IRS gave people a chance at leniency. As USA Today recently reported, 7,500 people have applied for the program, which ended Thursday. They undoubtedly rushed to the IRS after UBS, the largest Swiss bank, agreed to turn over information on nearly 4,500 people who held an estimated $18 billion at the bank, out of the view of the IRS.
The leniency program, lawyers say, has helped people who were not intentionally evading taxes make things right. In the meantime, the IRS has been right to aggressively pursue charges against those who manipulated the system.
We hope the IRS investigation sends a clear signal to the would-be tax cheats as well as the foreign banks that this kind of conduct will not be tolerated.
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