Business News
IRS calls UBS deal "big victory" for United States (Extra)
Aug 19, 2009, 14:48 GMT
Geneva - Douglas Shulman, the commissioner of Internal Revenue Service in the United States, called the deal between the Swiss government and Washington over UBS data on accounts a 'big victory' for his side, adding that it 'blows a big hole' in banking secrecy.
'It is a huge victory for the US government,' Shulman told Bloomberg Television, calling the deal an 'unprecedented agreement.'
Noting a previous deal in February which saw UBS hand over data on 250 accounts and the new bilateral agreement, which will affect information on 4,450 accounts, Shulman said the IRS could get 5,000 names in total from UBS.
'My personal view is that getting 5,000 names from one financial institution blows a big hole in bank secrecy, and is clearly a victory for the US government,' Shulman said, noting that until recently the US had no reach behind the veil of Swiss financial confidentiality.
He downplayed the final number of the deal. Originally, it was assumed the IRS demand for data could affect 52,000 accounts.
'We were never interested in 52,000 names,' said Shulman.
The Swiss government on the other hand has worked the opposite angle, saying that the US would only have access to the worst violators of tax fraud, which the confidentiality laws do not protect, but that banking secrecy was not destroyed.
Shulman promised that the IRS's crackdown on offshore tax evaders would continue.
COMMENT
blog comments powered by DisqusLatest Headlines in Business
- 1. US unemployment drops further, but figures disappoint
- 2. Japan stocks down as euro debt outweighs positive US data
- 3. Iraq resumes oil flow after pipeline blast in Turkey
- 4. Spanish bond auction lifts eurozone worries, sinks Japan stocks
- 5. ECB holds rates, rules out early exit from emergency measures
Older Talkback
