Throughout the world, countries have been cracking down on tax evaders. The United States and Canada are among the countries that have aggressively pursued cases against banks that facilitated tax evasion and against individual investors who evaded their tax obligations by keeping undeclared funds offshore.

Switzerland was once a haven for investors who wanted to have a safe place to keep their money offshore. This has not been the case for a long time. Many offshore investors have had their account information turned over to the IRS. Still others have worked with a Washington DC tax law firm to participate in voluntary disclosure of offshore funds before taxing authorities came after them for failure to declare their accounts in required annual disclosures (FBARs).