Swtizerlands 2nd largest bank has now begun to send letters to US citizens suspected of tax evasion, that it may turn over their names to the Internal Revenue Service. Credit Suisse has sent letters to US depositors alerting them that their names and account information will be forwarded to the US Internal Revenue Service as an agreement between the United States and Switzerland. Are you on the list and why this is important.
Credit Suisse Handing Over Names Once held Private
On Credit Suisse own letterhead and dated November 2, the letter comes from the bank’s Zurich headquarters and was signed by Credit Suisse executives. It cites a formal request made by the IRS to the SFTA (Swiss Federal Tax Administration) via a tax treaty between the two countries. This letter may disclose names to the IRS.
The letter gives the United States depositor two choices; they can either agree in writing to the turnover of their information to the SFTA, who will then forward that information to the IRS; or to hire a lawyer (in Switzerland!) and contest the process.
Herein lies the problem… under U.S. law, contesting a handover of information will require the United States depositor to inform the US Attorney General that they are doing so, which will ultimately disclose their identity anyway. So the secret Swiss bank account isn’t what it used to be.
The bigger problem now is not only giving over private information but how does one remove their funds and where do the funds go…? It seems the IRS has requested information about certain clients for the time period Jan 1, 2002 through Dec 31, 2010. This is quite a stretch of time and of course, most depositors saw the writing on the wall and moved on, but for those that didn’t…
Which leads me to Grant Hall’s book on US Banking Privacy. A fantastic read and one that may have the powers that be re-writing their own policies.
It is high time we either changed the tax system or get the hell out and spend our money in a country that will actually do something with tax dollars, not squander them on chasing bad money with good. Why not fairtax system? I am seriously considering selling off everything I own and moving to another country this is ridiculous. How much of our tax dollars did they spend to get back a few million? Ridiculous waste of taxpayer dollars. I understand the need for everyone to pay their fair share, but if they really want to help taxpayers, stop buying stupid office supplies and building new offices- smh and cry
man they just have to get their claws into every little aspect of someones life. I wish I could move I really do.
This is why I keep my money here in the US. Too much paperwork to keep track of all those accounts. I guess you have to be super rich just to hire people to keep track of your money for you. I will also definitely look into the book you mention on how to bank privately in the US
I read a report recently where there are a lot of people leaving the United States and renouncing their citizenship. news like this makes me wonder if more people will be leaving for other countries.
Actually, I just read a story that one of the Facebook inventors has renounced his citizenship. I think it may have to do with taxes. But in the same article there was a report that a lot of Mexican immigrants were also leaving the US and headed back to their home country. I dont know what to make of it
Thats just great… I will definitely be buying a copy of Privacy Crisis Im tired of spending money to go after people who want to hide their money illegally so I think hiding it legally is a better answer.