Hearings on Offshore Tax Haven Banks

The Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations [held hearings on] Tax Haven Banks and U. S. Tax Compliance:

The Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations hearing will examine how financial institutions located in offshore tax havens, including Liechtenstein and Switzerland, may be engaged in banking practices that could facilitate, and in some instances have resulted in, tax evasion and other misconduct by U.S. clients. The hearing will also examine how U.S. domestic and international tax enforcement efforts could be strengthened.

Here are the witnesses scheduled to testify:

• Panel #1:
  • Douglas H. Shulman (Commissioner, IRS) (testimony)
  • Kevin O’Connor (Associate Attorney General, U.S. Dep’t of Justice) (testimony)
• Panel #2:
  • Shannon Marsh (Ft. Lauderdale, FL)
  • William Wu (Forest Hills, NY)
  • Peter S. Lowy (Beverly Hills, CA)
  • Steven Greenfield (New York, NY)
• Panel #3:
  • Martin Liechtia (Head, UBS Wealth Management, Zurich, Switzerland)
• Panel #4:
  • Mark Branson (Chief Financial Officer, UBS Global Wealth Management & Business Banking, Zurich, Switzerland)
  • TBA (LGT Group, Vaduz, Liechtenstein)

* * * In connection with the hearing, the Committee released a 114-page report, Tax Haven Banks and U.S. Tax Compliance. * * * See also the 362 pages of exhibits.  Press coverage:

• ABC News:
  • Super Rich Tax Cheats Outed by Bank Clerk, by Brian Ross & Rhonda Schwartz
  • Hundreds of Super Rich Under Investigation, by Brian Ross, Rhonda Schwartz & Avni Patel
• Associated Press:
  • Senate: Offshore Tax Abuses Total Billions
• Bloomberg News:
  • Frank Lowy Hid Money in Liechtenstein, Lawmakers Say, by Ryan J. Donmoyer
  • IRS Set to Close Tax Loopholes for Non-U.S. Banks, by Ryan J. Donmoyer
  • LGT Weighed Account for Bribes Linked to Glencore, Report Says, by David Voreacos & Carlyn Kolker
  • UBS, LGT Helped Clients Hide Assets, Dodge Taxes, Senate Says, by David Voreacos & Carlyn Kolker
  • UBS Stops Offshore Banking Services for U.S. Clients, by Ryan J. Donmoyer & David Voreacos
• New York Times
  • I.R.S. Aims to Give Teeth to a Program Meant to Counter Offshore Tax Avoidance, by Lynnley Browning
  • Senate Report Examines Role of Banks in Tax Evasion, by Lynnley Browning
• Time:
  • Cracking Down on Tax Evaders, by Barbara Kiviat
• USA Today:
  • Senate Report Says Wealthy Use Foreign Banks to Evade Taxes, by Kevin McCoy
• Wall Street Journal:
  • Four Face Senate Inquiry Over Tax Haven, by Evan Perez
  • Offshore Tax Evasion Costs U.S. $100 Billion, Senate Probe of UBS, LGT Indicates, by Evan Perez