The final deadline for special voluntary disclosures of unreported income from hidden offshore bank accounts is October 15, 2009. Taxpayers who come forward will escape harsher penalties and the possibility of criminal prosecution.
In August, Swiss Bank UBS agreed to hand over the names of more than four thousand wealthy Americans under suspicion of tax evasion by the U.S. government. Even though the secret account holders will have a chance to appeal the release of their information before the Swiss Federal Administrative Court, more than three thousand American UBS clients have already come forward as part of the voluntary disclosure program.
The United States government has plans to prosecute those individuals whose names are revealed by UBS but who do not disclose their accounts by October 15th. The IRS announced that there will be no extensions to this deadline.
If you want prompt, accurate, and confidential tax advice, consider becoming a TaxResources Member and using our professionally staffed TaxHotline Service. Our TaxHotline professionals will answer your tax questions.
This information is being provided to the taxpayer as required by the Internal Revenue Service and follows the guidelines for best practices for tax advisors per Circular 230 §10.33(a)(1-4), and §10.35(b)(2), (8), and (10). This written statement may be considered to be a “covered opinion” as defined by the Internal Revenue Service. This statement(s), along with subsequent correspondence, is not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used by the taxpayer, for the purpose of avoiding lawful penalties that may be imposed on the taxpayer by the Internal Revenue Service. The principal purpose of any stated tax advice included here has as its purpose to claim tax benefits in a manner consistent with the statutes and Congressional intent.
