UBS To Disclose Names Of 5,000 American Tax Cheats

http://freerangetalk.com/?p=17049

by BeyondGoodAndEvil

ZURICH (Reuters) – Switzerland's UBS will not have to pay a fine as part of the settlement of a tax evasion dispute with the United States, two Swiss newspapers reported on Sunday.

The NZZ am Sonntag and SonntagsZeitung both also reported that data of some 5,000 UBS clients would be released to the U.S. authorities. The two papers cited unnamed sources familiar with the case.

Spokesmen for the Swiss justice and the foreign ministry declined to comment on the reports. UBS was not immediately available.

The U.S. government and UBS struck a deal to settle a dispute over tax evasion and Switzerland's bank secrecy on Friday, heading off a showdown that had threatened to sour relations between the U.S. and Switzerland.

The main sticking point was that U.S. authorities wanted UBS to disclose the names of 52,000 wealthy American clients suspected of using the bank to evade taxes — a demand that tested Switzerland's vaunted tradition of bank secrecy.

On the face of it, this is good news, however it's not much of a deal for the U.S.

Wealthy Americans have long used secret numbered Swiss accounts to hide their overseas income and assets from the IRS, in offshore tax havens.

Considering UBS was one of the beneficiaries of the AIG bailout – to the tune of more than 5 billion of U.S. taxpayer money – this is a victory for UBS and tax evaders. UBS will disclose less than 10% of  the suspected U.S. tax evaders to the IRS.

So the taxpayers that aren't rich enough to create offshore tax havens (the middle and working class) have indirectly paid out monies to UBS courtesy of the 2008 AIG bailout, and enabled them to continue to keep secret the names of more than 90% of the wealthy U.S. tax evaders.