UBS says had 47K accounts for Americans

Yahoo! Finance ^ | 03/04/2009 | Marcy Gordon

[5thGenTexan]

WASHINGTON (AP) -- UBS AG now says it had about 47,000 accounts held by Americans who didn't pay U.S. taxes on their assets, but Switzerland's biggest bank is providing the names of only 300 American clients to the U.S. government in a showdown over secrecy.

[5thGenTexan]

They have 47,000 names but will be releasing only 300. Think there will be any Libs/Dems in there?

[AmericanMade1776]

Let me start a list of Americans who have Swiss Bank accounts they do not pay taxes on

1. Al Gore

2. Bill Clinton

3. ..

[AmericanMade1776]

3. John Kerry

4....

[AmericanMade1776]

4. Al Franken.. it is where he keeps money he has embellezed from Charities..

5....

[goodnesswins]

300 Republicans.....46,700 Democrats

[Wolfhound777]

I highly doubt there is any evidence what so ever that 47000 accounts were not paying taxes. It’s a witch hunt by our collectivist masters to find out who has accounts and then try to trump up and nitpick procedural stuff so that they can confiscate funds. If they actually had evidence, they would be giving UBS the names, not the other way around. This is all BS from the thieves that are now running the government.

[AmericanMade1776]

5. Gov Bill Richardson of N. M. , it is where he keeps the #100,000 pac money funneled there illegally.

[Errant]

Penalty for failure to report interests in foreign financial accounts
The act modifies the penalties for failure to report interests in foreign financial accounts effective October 22, 2004. A US citizen, US resident or persons doing business in the US with a financial interest in or signing authority over any financial accounts in a foreign country must report that relationship to the US Treasury on or before June 30 of the succeeding year on Form TD F 90-22.1 — Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts. This reporting requirement does not apply if the aggregate value of these financial accounts does not exceed US$10,000 at any time during the calendar year.

Previously, a taxpayer who willfully neglected to report holdings or signing authority in foreign financial accounts may have been subject to a penalty equal to the greater of US$25,000 or the value of the holdings to a maximum of US$100,000. The new provision increases the civil pen- alty, in the case of willful neglect, to the greater of US$100,000 or 50% of the transaction or the account value at the time of the violation.

The new law imposes an additional civil penalty of up to US$10,000 on any person who violates the reporting requirement, regardless of willfulness. However, this penalty may be waived if there is a reasonable cause for the failure but only if the income from these financial holdings is properly reported on Schedule B of Form 1040 of the US personal income tax return.

[Wolfhound777]

I still don’t buy it. 47,000 people somehow laundered money without a trace? What did they do, strap millions on themselves and fly it out of the country? I know they didn’t do it electronically or FINCEN would have picked up on it. They are vilifying any overseas accounts and making it sound like anyone who uses them are tax cheats. The real story is they don’t want anyone having assets where they can’t seize them, all for the common good and sacrifice in this economic crisis of course.

[Errant]

"The real story is they don’t want anyone having assets where they can’t seize them, all for the common good and sacrifice in this economic crisis of course.

Agree

We are talking a lot of money in penalties - The greater of US$100,000 or 50% of the transaction or the account value at the time of the violation

And - an additional civil penalty of up to US$10,000 on any person who violates the reporting requirement, regardless of willfulness.

Accounts over 10K of course which most probably are I would bet. So if they have been reported by their owners to the IRS what is the fuss about?

[rcrngroup]

I still don’t buy it. 47,000 people somehow laundered money without a trace? What did they do, strap millions on themselves and fly it out of the country?

I wish I could strap my 401K account plus some others and fly it out to USB. It might be the only way to salvage what we have spent our lives working for
.

[Wolfhound777]

You may be right. Pelosi already has a gleam in her eye to confiscate them and promise us a 3% return. They are from the government and they are here to help us right?

[ExSES]

UBS AG now says it had about 47,000 accounts held by Americans who didn't pay U.S. taxes on their assets, but Switzerland's biggest bank is providing the names of only 300 American clients to the U.S. government in a showdown over secrecy.

While conflicted on the matter..., let the chips fall where they may!

I have known folks who hide substantial assets in Swiss banks and hide their earnings...

We'll see where it all comes out!

[Wolfhound777]

Well, it’s like this. There are already laws and penalties as you state. If someone breaks them, then they pay the price. I just find it very difficult to believe that so many people were sophisticated enough to get money out of the country unnoticed. That’s almost impossible. You can’t do it by check, credit card, debit card, transfer or wire without FINCEN monitoring the transactions. So they would know if money was moved overseas, by whom, and if they report or not. The only way to do it would be to launder cash. That’s very difficult and I find it hard to believe that 47,000 accounts at one bank did it. I could see the US Govt saying something like “we are asking UBS to help with certain individual accounts that we think are not reporting...” But they are not saying that, they are using heavy handed tactics to threaten a sovereign nations banking laws to turn over all names guilty or not. They are also using the media to push the idea that anyone who has overseas accounts must be tax cheats. What they are doing is nothing more than strong arming overseas banks to close out all US citizen accounts so the money has to come back here where they can get their mitts on it when or if they decide to. Just my opinion.

[Plutarch]

All UBS has to do is hint that it will release the names of 300 or so prominent Democrats, and the Obama Feds will cave like it was the Russians or Iranians in a huff.

[sten]

what right does the US have to expect ANY information on income earned outside the US jurisdiction. just because you want to know is not grounds. just because the US wants the money, is not grounds.

the money earned, if it never repatriates, should be taxed in the jurisdiction is was earned.

this would be similar to living in MA but working in NY. NY expects to get taxes for the time you worked in NY, regardless of the fact that you live in MA.

it can’t square both ways. that just doesn’t make sense.

[KoRn]

"The only way to do it would be to launder cash"

What about forming an offshore "corporation", and the corporation using the account(s)? I'm a layman regarding such things, just brainstorming.

[Yaelle]

Not all of them got money out of the USA. The USA is the only country to tax its citizens on moneys they earned while abroad. Only the first $75K are tax free. So, many USA citizens will magically have salaries of $75K, and yet receive some “special fee” of some kind from their international company in Switzerland. This could account for a lot of the money.

[Wolfhound777]

There is still a very visible paper trail. It might take some time to sort out, but a good investigator would eventually get it figured out. I'm a layman also, but the urgency of their effort and the fact they are using propaganda in the media to taint offshore accounts as to be synonymous with tax evasion doesn't pass the smell test.

[Yaelle]

I agree. Switzerland doesn’t owe the USA anything. It’s a sovereign country and is allowed to have its own banking secrecy laws.