***RESCHEDULED MARCH 4th*** Tax Haven Banks and U. S. Tax Compliance - Obtaining the Names of U.S. Clients with Swiss Accounts

Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations

Tuesday, February 24, 2009
10:00 AM

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The Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations has scheduled a hearing, Tax Haven Banks and U. S. Tax Compliance - Obtaining the Names of U.S. Clients with Swiss Accounts, on Tuesday, February 24, 2009, at 10:00 a.m., in Room 342 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building.

This hearing will continue the Subcommittee’s examination of financial institutions which are located in offshore tax havens and which use practices that facilitate tax evasion and other misconduct by U.S. clients. One of the banks featured in a July 2008 hearing on this topic is UBS, a major financial institution headquartered in Switzerland. The hearing will examine issues related to a John Doe summons served by the IRS on UBS seeking the names of U.S. clients with UBS Swiss accounts that have not been disclosed to the IRS. In July, UBS representatives estimated that about 19,000 U.S. clients had about $18 billion in assets in such Swiss accounts. UBS stated at the July 2008 hearing that it would cooperate with the IRS summons, but to date virtually none of the requested information has been provided to either the IRS or the U.S. Department of Justice which is also examining the matter. The hearing will examine the status of the information exchange, the role of U.S.-Swiss tax and legal assistance treaties, and the effect of Swiss secrecy laws on the information requests.

A witness list will be available Friday, February 20, 2009.