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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2009
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Tax Cheats Flood IRS, Looking to Come Clean

Inquiry into Swiss banks leads hundreds of evaders to come clean

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(Newser) – A crackdown on tax evasion has led to a flood of wealthy Americans lining up to reveal their offshore accounts to the IRS, reports the Wall Street Journal. A limited-time offer of lower fines, coupled with the ongoing probe of Swiss bank accounts held by UBS, has produced a stampede of tax sinners eager to pay up. "Last week we had 400 applicants, four times as many as in all of last year," says an IRS spokesman.

UBS is still wrangling with US authorities over how many names it will hand over. But if tax evaders fess up before this fall, they may face only civil charges, which carry substantially lower fines than criminal charges. Not every confession is accepted, however; says one lawyer, "They could wind up both rejected for clemency and helping the IRS case against them."

UBS, the largest Swiss bank, has been cooperating with American authorities in tax evasion cases.
UBS, the largest Swiss bank, has been cooperating with American authorities in tax evasion cases.   (AP Photo/Keystone/Walter Bieri,File )
The IRS is offering clemency, but not complete amnesty, to tax dodgers who come clean before Sept. 23.
The IRS is offering clemency, but not complete amnesty, to tax dodgers who come clean before Sept. 23.   (©psyberartist)
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Last spring it took two or three days to get a response to an initial contact. Now it takes two to three weeks. - Kevin Packman, an attorney handling about 50 tax evasion cases

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3 comments
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Yourself
Jul 30, 09 10:21 AM CDT
personally, if they're finally willing to come forward, though under the threat of something worse, they should all be given clemency. Yes, i know, it took a threat to do it, and yes they've been guilty all this time, but if they're finally willing to cough up the cash to make up for missed the payments in the past, then i have no problem with that. We don't need to be putting more people in jail, especially if they're willing to financially payback what they've avoided all this time. Reply
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IN RESPONSE:
Snarfeh
Jul 30, 09 10:37 PM CDT
I disagree. They should be waterboarded. :oP
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TerrifiedCitizen
Jul 30, 09 2:49 PM CDT
Yes, but the torture and prison time is all part of the reign of terror relied upon by sovereign states for centuries. Reply
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