German Government officials have announced their intention to purchase information regarding 1 500 German nationals who allegedly hold undisclosed wealth in Swiss offshore accounts, which could net the Government an approximated €100 million in tax revenues and penalties. The German Government has disclosed that it has been offered information by an anonymous informant regarding numerous German nationals allegedly holding undisclosed wealth in Swiss bank accounts. In a statement made on February 1st German Chancellor Angela Merkel stated that the Government should do everything ... Read More

The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has announced an update to their Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Initiative (OVDI) for nationals with unreported income from offshore activities. Amid a worldwide escalation of Government tax amnesties, Australia has joined the fray and offered its citizens an opportunity to volunteer up information regarding any unpaid tax obligations in relation to their offshore bank accounts. In the OVDI program, only taxpayers with additional previously undeclared taxable incomes of greater than AUD20,000 will be forced to pay a penalty of ... Read More

The UK's HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has announced that the deadline for their offshore investment tax amnesty program - New Disclosure Opportunity (NDO) - has now been moved forward to January 4th. Originally the NDO program, which ran from September 1st, 2009, required offshore account holders to disclose their obligations before November 30th. Speculation concerning possible extensions to the tax amnesty circulated throughout the media in the last week before the deadline. On November 27th Dave Hartnett, HMRC’s Permanent Secretary for ... Read More

The Italian branches of Swiss banks were raided by the Guardia di Finanza on October 30th. According to Italian authorities, the operation was aimed at ensuring that all relevant taxation data was being provided by Swiss banks to the Italian tax authorities. In total, 76 branches were visited across northern Italy by the Italian Financial Police, Guardia di Finanza, and tax inspectors from the Agenzia delle Entrate, Italy's Inland Revenue Services equivalent. While no banks opted to comment on the raids, the ... Read More

Dough Shulman, US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Commissioner, has revealed that the department has initiated a new audit program aimed at catching high-wealth tax cheats. Speaking at a conference for the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) on the 26th of October, in Washington DC, Doug Shulman announced the creation of the Global High Wealth Industry Group (GHWIG). According to the IRS Commissioner, the unit will conduct “a small number” of audits on individuals with assets “in the neighborhood of $30 ... Read More

According to the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS), 7,500 offshore account holders have revealed their details in exchange for leniency on their subsequent judgment. In an effort to curb tax evasion and retrieve tax liabilities avoided through offshore accounts, the IRS is offering a tax amnesty program which sees lower penalties and prosecution avoidance for those harboring money overseas. The program which requires submissions to be made by 5pm on October 15th, has now received over 7,500 applications. According to IRS statements, ... Read More

The New Zealand branch of Westpac Banking Corp has been found guilty by the New Zealand High Court of tax evasion, the legal action concerns a total of NZD918 million. Court proceedings revolved around adjustments made to returns filed by Westpac in which a number of transactions were claimed and used to reduce the overall tax liability. The IRD contested that these were carried out purely with the purpose of tax evasion and subsequently assessed the bank’s tax liability higher. The ... Read More