![]() The bank argued that releasing the data would represent a criminal violation of Swiss banking secrecy laws. But, until the deal signed Wednesday was reached last week, UBS balked at turning over most of the account data demanded by the IRS. UBS in February agreed to pay $780 million in a settlement that deferred federal prosecution. to help American clients hide assets and income offshore without paying taxes. The agreement signals the tentative end of a federal court battle in which the IRS and Justice Department targeted UBS, Switzerland's largest bank, amid evidence that it secretly sent bankers to the U.S. Saying the IRS has no current plans to extend the deadline, Shulman urged Americans with secret accounts at UBS and other foreign banks to "get right with your government" by disclosing the holdings and paying taxes owed. The deadline for entering the program is Sept. clients who receive notification that their UBS account data will be disclosed under Wednesday's agreement will remain eligible for an IRS voluntary disclosure program under which those who come forward are offered lesser penalties, Shulman said. Between that previous handover and the new agreement, the IRS expects to get information for more than 5,000 UBS accounts. ![]() ![]() Federal prosecutors have filed criminal cases involving four of the account owners in recent months. UBS earlier this year handed over financial data for about 250 American-owned accounts that bore specific evidence of tax evasion. It is expected to take months before federal investigators receive financial data for all the accounts, IRS officials said. The decisions will be subject to Swiss judicial review, but the Swiss government will expedite the handling of such challenges, IRS officials said. ![]() The bank will give the account data to the Swiss Financial Tax Administration, which will decide which accounts will be turned over to IRS investigators. Under the unprecedented agreement, UBS will start notifying account holders shortly that their financial data will be turned over to U.S. "We will be receiving an unprecedented amount of information on taxpayers who have evaded their tax obligations by hiding money offshore at UBS," Shulman said. He described the 4,450 accounts stipulated in the deal as "what we wanted all along" - the holdings most suspected of tax evasion. But some of those owners have previously disclosed their holdings to the IRS, said Shulman. UBS has an estimated 52,000 accounts involving U.S. ![]()
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