UBS Settlement Spurs Americans to Disclose Tax Problems Before Possible Prosecution
The federal government and Swiss bank UBS reached a long-awaited settlement last week, the Associated Press reported Aug. 15. The IRS sued UBS for withholding names of 52,000 American taxpayers who it believes are hiding assets in UBS accounts to avoid taxation. They reached a settlement in that contentious case Aug. 12. Details of the settlement have not yet been released, the article said -- but U.S. taxpayers who believe they may be charged with tax crimes as a result of the settlement are hurrying to come clean first.
These taxpayers are taking advantage of a voluntary disclosure program announced by the IRS in March. During the six months ending Sept. 23, taxpayers who have undeclared assets with UBS or another overseas bank may voluntarily disclose the existence of that money. They will have to pay back taxes and penalties, but in exchange for their honesty, they can avoid the more severe penalties and potential prison time they would face in a federal prosecution for tax evasion. As our Miami tax evasion criminal defense lawyers have written on this blog before, those penalties can be severe -- up to five years in prison and up to 50% of the value of undeclared assets for each year they failed to disclose those assets.
Even before a settlement had been reached, tax evasion defense attorneys in South Florida and elsewhere reported a sharp increase in the number of clients asking for help with a voluntary disclosure. The IRS won’t disclose the total number of applicants, but did say that the agency saw 400 applicants in just one week this July, up from a total of fewer than 100 applicants in all of 2008. One attorney interviewed for the piece said he didn’t think taxpayers had much of a choice, because the enforcement situation has been permanently changed. Another person in the article, a tax advisor, said his clients get far better outcomes when they display “good faith” to the IRS -- and that includes voluntarily coming forward before the agency can charge them with federal tax crimes.
Balliro, Galasso, Leskovich & Seltzer has an active practice helping UBS accountholders and others take advantage of this voluntary disclosure program. Taxpayers may represent themselves during this process, but there are substantial and important advantages to getting advice from an experienced attorney. Our West Palm Beach tax evasion criminal defense attorneys help clients determine their eligibility; advise them about what must be disclosed; and represent them at interviews with the IRS, which can be stressful as well as legally troublesome. And of course, we will negotiate aggressively on clients’ behalf to get them the best and fairest possible outcome -- one that takes into account their good-faith disclosures and extenuating circumstances.
BGL&S is a criminal defense law firm based in Fort Myers and Fort Lauderdale and serving clients in all of Florida. Our attorneys are experienced former public defenders and prosecutors with extensive experience in how government prosecutors make their cases. We put that knowledge to work for our clients involved in criminal and administrative proceedings. Our Naples tax evasion criminal defense lawyers can help clients even before formal charges can be filed, avoiding the embarrassment and potential consequences of a criminal charge. We can also advise clients on related matters, such as professional licensing consequences, preventing an investigation into what may be an innocent mistake from damaging their careers, their assets and their families.
If you have an account with UBS or another overseas bank and are concerned about potential tax evasion prosecution, you should call BGL&S for help today. To set up a free, confidential case evaluation, you can reach us -- 24 hours a day and seven days a week -- through the Internet or toll-free from anywhere within Florida at 1-866-ARRESTED.
