Why is it that the more you have, you less you want to share what you have?
One would kind of think that the more you have, the less any of it means. $10 is a lot more important if you only have $100 than if you have $1M. Or a few $B.
These folks went out of their way to pay expensive bankers so that they would not have to pay their country and UBS stuck with the business because these folks were willing to pay so much to avoid taxes.
Top Banker Cited In Tax-Dodge Case
Wall Street Journal
November 14, 2008
WASHINGTON -- U.S. prosecutors charged one of the world's top private bankers, a senior executive of UBS AG, with helping rich clients evade federal income taxes, the latest U.S. move aimed at pressuring Swiss banking officials to reveal the names of their American account holders.
Raoul Weil, a member of the Swiss banking giant's executive board, is accused of organizing a phalanx of private bankers to help hide from U.S. tax authorities about $20 billion in assets belonging to about 20,000 clients, according to an indictment filed in U.S. District Court in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. The alleged offenses occurred between 2002 and 2007, when Mr. Weil was the bank's top international wealth management executive.
Mr. Weil, according to federal prosecutors, referred to the offshore business as "toxic waste" because of the risks it posed to the bank, but oversaw the expansion of the accounts because they were so profitable. If convicted on the felony charge of conspiring to defraud the U.S. government, Mr. Weil could serve a maximum of five years in jail.
I guess it doesnt shock me that the Americans with the most want to keep it for themselves. What does shock me that there were so many of them. 20,000 cases with UBS alone! Wowza.
UBS Clients Seek Amnesty on U.S. Taxes
Wall Street Journal
November 24, 2008
Wealthy clients of Swiss bank UBS AG are coming forward to make amends with tax authorities, a sign U.S. efforts to battle offshore tax evasion and dent Switzerland's bank secrecy are having the desired effect.
Moved to take action after a former UBS private banker was indicted and spilled valuable secrets, the UBS clients are hiring tax lawyers and pursuing amnesty through an Internal Revenue Service voluntary disclosure program. The program allows U.S. citizens to avoid criminal prosecution if they acknowledge evasion and agree to pay taxes and penalties.
The clients' actions are a boon for the IRS, which lacks the staff to go after about 20,000 U.S. citizens who U.S. authorities say worked with UBS private bankers to avoid taxes.
