Sunday, November 30, 2008

UBS Off Shore Numbered Accounts

Passed down Nest Egg, becomes albatross
random snips full article at
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aLCTGxffHGGo&refer=home
clipped from www.bloomberg.com
“We’re starting to get phone calls from U.S. citizens who
say, ‘When these names get handed over, I’m in trouble,’
The defense lawyers noted that some of their UBS clients
inherited accounts from relatives, including Holocaust survivors
or Europeans who fled the continent during World War II
“They eventually made their way to the U.S., but they had a
nest egg in Switzerland,”
The survivors passed their money
onto children who often were unaware
Such accounts “become an albatross around the neck of the
owners,”
Filing tax forms each year is like
“returning to the scene of the crime.”
Wealthy U.S. clients of UBS AG are
offering to settle their tax liabilities
Those coming forward include
descendants of Holocaust survivors
“Taxpayers who
voluntarily disclose in most cases avoid criminal prosecution.”
“God
help you if you disclose 15 minutes after they start looking for
you.”
If the various levels
of heat become too intense, UBS will turn it over to the Swiss
authorities and say, ‘Here is the list
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