Congress and the White House are trying to press a crackdown on the lucrative tax haven business,UGG Classic Tall Boots, fresh off a victory over Swiss bank UBS AG (UBS), which admitted in a recent plea deal with the Justice Department that it aided tax evasion by wealthy U.S. clients.
UBS last month agreed to pay $780 million in fines as part of a deferred prosecution agreement with federal prosecutors. The bank is disclosing clients who benefited from about 250 accounts that the Justice Department alleges were set up as shell entities as part of tax avoidance schemes. The bank admitted to violating regulations set under a treaty that requires banks to submit information about their U.S. clients’ tax obligations.
Sen. Carl Levin,UGG Classic Tall Metallic Boots,timberland mens, D-Mich., chairman of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations,Nike Womens Shox Torch Shoes,UGG Handbags, which has delved into alleged tax haven abuse for years, said he hopes a bill he is sponsoring and similar legislation in the House will stop banks from doing what UBS has admitted.
Levin’s committee is set to hear testimony Wednesday from Mark Branson,UGG Classic Tall Metallic Boots, a senior UBS wealth management executive,Ugg Sundance Chestnut,UGG Boots, as well as senior Internal Revenue Service and Justice Department officials overseeing the tax haven investigations. The hearing is expected to focus on details of the bank’s deal with prosecutors, including documents that investigators say show how UBS trained its bankers to avoid detection by U.S. investigators.