Washington, DC based Thorn Law Group Reports The U.S. Government Extends Amnesty/Disclosure Program to Swiss Banks to Avoid D.O.J Investigation or Prosecution
Washington, DC (PRWEB) September 18, 2013 -- On August 29, 2013, the United States and Switzerland agreed to a Program for Swiss banks to make disclosures to the U.S. government in exchange for the U.S. Department of Justice’s agreement not to prosecute or criminally investigate the bank. This Program is a significant development in the Department of Justice’s aggressive investigations into the role Swiss banks have played in assisting U.S. taxpayers to hide money and commit tax evasion. To date, the Department of Justice’s investigations have resulted in indictments and criminal prosecutions. For more information on such indictments go to http://www.doj.gov or http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2013/August/13-tax-978.html.
The new Amnesty Program will be available to all Swiss Banks, except for the banks currently under criminal investigation by the U.S. government. In order to participate in the Program , the Swiss banks must be willing to pay potentially steep fines and penalties to the United States and disclose all information about their cross-border activities. Swiss banks who participate in the Program will be required to comply with requests made under the U.S.-Swiss Tax Treaty to not only provide detailed information about each U.S. person who had an account with the bank, but also to provide information about other banks that accepted U.S. clients and who may have promised secrecy to U.S. account holders. Banks who do not enter the Program by December 31, 2013 will face possible criminal investigations and prosecution if they are found to have helped U.S taxpayers evade taxes.
Unlike the popular IRS Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program for U.S. account holders, this is a special amnesty program specifically for banks. The Swiss government is encouraging all eligible Swiss banks to participate in the Program.
Kevin E. Thorn, Managing Parter of Thorn Law Group, PLLC is an experienced tax attorney who represents numerous foreign banks and financial entities all over the world, and deals with the IRS and DOJ on a daily basis. Thorn states, “The Department of Justice and the Internal Revenue Service will continue to put pressure on all foreign banks to turn over American client information in order to bring United States taxpayers back into compliance. It is in the best interest of the Swiss banks to enter this special Amnesty Program in order to avoid the potentially devastating consequences of an investigation and/or prosecution by the U.S. Government.” Adds Thorn, “The IRS and DOJ will aggressively pursue any foreign bank or financial institution, regardless of size, that they believe has been helping U.S. taxpayers commit tax crimes.”
For additional information on the news that is the subject of this release and/or the investigation of Swiss banks and other banks around the world, contact Kevin E. Thorn, Managing Partner of Thorn Law Group at 202-270-7273 or visit us at http://www.thorntaxlaw.com/.
About Thorn Law Group, PLLC:
Thorn Law Group, PLLC is a law firm dedicated to helping clients resolve complicated tax, criminal tax, and international tax problems.
Contact:
Kevin E. Thorn
Managing Partner Thorn Law Group, PLLC
202-270-7273
http://www.thorntaxlaw.com/
Kevin Thorn, Thorn Law Group, http://www.thorntaxlaw.com, 202-270-7273, [email protected]
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