US: Tax evaders hiding money offshore get one last shot at amnesty from IRS

If you’ve been hiding funds in offshore accounts, you now have until Oct. 15 to apply to the IRS for amnesty and avoid stiffer penalties. That’s an additional 22 days from the original deadline of Sept. 23. So far, the amnesty program in 2009 has enticed 3,000 taxpayers to voluntarily admit they were hiding funds offshore. That’s a huge crowd compared to the 90 who filed for amnesty in 2008.

US: Tax evaders hiding money offshore get one last shot at amnesty from IRS

The primary reason people are coming forward is likely that the IRS began prosecutions in 2009; so far, two UBS (UBS) bankers, five of UBS’s U.S. clients, a Liechtensteiner adviser, a Swiss lawyer and a manager at Zurich-based Neue Zuercher Bank are facing prosecution. UBS paid the U.S. government $780 million in fines, penalties, interest and restitution in February, and turned over about 250 names to get the ball rolling. Based on an agreement reached with the U.S. in August, UBS will soon turn over 4,450 more client names.

People can only get amnesty if they apply voluntarily before the IRS gets their names. So for those holding out to see if their name will be on the list, by the time you find out, it could be too late.

1 March 2024

UK: Complex offshore tax avoidance scheme revealed by HMRC

A complex tax avoidance scheme that moves income offshore has been exposed by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) today (29 February 2024), with anyone who has joined the arrangement warned to get out of

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22 February 2024

EU: Oxfam calls EU’s revised tax haven blacklist ‘a joke’

The EU announced Tuesday its revised tax haven blacklist, which removed Anguilla, Dominica and Seychelles, but the NGO Oxfam immediately called it “a joke” given the Pandora Papers revelations.

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23 August 2024

UK: Named and Shamed – HMRC lists 92 tax avoidance schemes

HM Revenue & Customs has named 92 schemes which it says are involved in tax avoidance – and it admits this isn’t the complete list. There has been controversy for some years over the status

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31 May 2024

AFRICA: Investor Interest Surges Amid South Africa’s Fintech Expansion

South Africa’s fintech sector is experiencing rapid growth and attracting significant investment, establishing the country as a leader in African financial innovation, according to Antonia Bothner,

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