Offshore Account UpdatePosted in on October 9, 2015
The Department of Justice has created the Swiss Bank Program, which is essentially an amnesty program allowing banks to come forward and negotiate deals to avoid serious criminal penalties for helping to facilitate tax evasion. Banks pay fines to U.S. authorities and agree to provide details about their cross-border activities, as well as information about specific accounts in which U.S. taxpayers have a direct or an indirect interest.
Read MoreOffshore Account UpdatePosted in on September 25, 2015
Berner Kantonalbank AG has entered into a non-prosecution agreement. The Department of Justice has agreed not to prosecute Berner Kantonalbank AG for tax-related offenses under Titles 18 and 26 of the United States Code or for monetary transaction offenses under Sections 5314 and 5322 of Title 31 of the U.S. Code. In exchange for not being prosecuted by the DOJ, Berner Kantonalbank AG has agreed to provide detailed information on U.S.-affiliated accounts.
Read MoreOffshore Account UpdatePosted in on August 28, 2015
The acting attorney general for the Tax Division of the Justice Department is pushing the U.S. Senate to ratify a tax treaty signed in September of 2009. The treaty was between the United States and Switzerland, and it would amend Article 26 of the existing Swiss-U.S. tax treaty to implement the OECD standard from the OECD Model Tax Convention. The OECD standard requires the contracting countries to exchange “such information as is foreseeably relevant” for carrying out the provisions of the tax treaty and enforcing domestic tax laws.
Read MoreOffshore Account UpdatePosted in on August 14, 2015
Finter Bank in Zurich has become the latest financial institution to take advantage of the Swiss Bank Program. The program, announced in August of 2013, allows for Swiss banks to avoid criminal prosecution by paying fines and cooperating with authorities to provide information on accountholders.
Read MorePress ReleasesPosted in on August 13, 2015
Kevin E. Thorn, the founding member and managing partner of Thorn Law Group, was recently featured in a Wall Street Journal article as a leading attorney in the DC region. The publishers of the August 3, 2015 Capital Region’s Premier Lawyers’ Supplement recognized the achievements of fifteen leading firms in the DC metro area, including the DC-based Thorn Law Group. This special Supplement noted that Thorn’s extensive tax law experience and background as a former IRS attorney makes him the “ultimate insider on tax matters for the D.C., Maryland and Virginia area.”
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