What's New in the World of the IRS
The Saga of Offshore Tax Evasion Continues
Beyond UBS, the Swiss bank accused of helping thousands of wealthy Americans hide their money in their accounts to evade paying federal taxes, the IRS has been going after other banks and individuals involved in doing the same thing. One such Swiss bank is Neue Zuercher bank based in Zurich.
One of its managers, Hansruedi Schumacher has been charged for acting in his capacity to help American depositors dodge taxes. Schumacher was previously employed with UBS as the person in charge of cross border business. When he became implicated in this matter, Neue Zuercher promptly dismissed him of his position in the bank. It is understood that Schumacher would have resigned by September anyway due to personal reasons.
When this accusation of UBS boiled over, Neue Zuercher decided to ask their American clients to declare their offshore assets to the IRS. Efforts to contact Schumacher has been fruitless.
Meanwhile, UBS has come to an agreement with the IRS to reveal details of 4,450 of its depositors for the IRS to begin investigations. Presently, 150 of such depositors from a list of almost 300 previously revealed by the bank are already under investigation. Besides investigating the suspected American tax evaders, the IRS has made a crackdown of other bankers and lawyers beyond UBS. The US has issued a warrant of arrest for Schumacher although the agreement between the IRS and UBS does not provide for extradition of Swiss citizens.
The case against Schumacher is U.S. v Hansruedi Schumacher, 09-cr-60210, U.S. District Court, Southern District of Florida (Fort Lauderdale).
The IRS Goes Hip
What do the IRS and YouTube have in common? Nothing, except that the IRS has started putting up videos in the most popular video sharing site on the planet. As if that were not enough, the IRS also makes podcasts for broadcast over iTunes.
So what are these IRS videos and podcasts all about? For one thing, they give details of the tax provisions under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). The IRS has posted these videos in a special website, http://www.youtube.com/irsvideos. Specific topics covered include the First time Home owners Credit, the Sales and Excise Deduction for purchases of new cars and tax relief for and expenses related to education and energy conservation. The videos are in English, Spanish and American Sign Language (ASL). There are plans to create them in other languages as well in future.
As for the podcasts, they are available on iTunes and the multimedia section of the IRS' own website, www.irs.gov. They are also in English and Spanish.
Darrin T. Mish is a veteran, nationally recognized tax attorney who has focused on providing IRS help to taxpayers for over a decade. He regularly travels the country training other attorneys, CPAs and enrolled agents on how to handle their toughest cases with the IRS. He is highly ranked among the top attorneys in the country, with an AV rating from Martindale-Hubbell and a perfect 10 on Avvo.com. Martindale-Hubbell has also honored him with a listing in their Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers. He is a member of the American Society of IRS Problem Solvers and the Tax Freedom Institute. With clients on every continent but Antarctica, he has what it takes to solve your IRS problems no matter where you live in the world. If you would like more information about his practice and how he can help you, please call his office at (813) 229-7100 or toll free at 1-888-GET-MISH.
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