For-profit operations require not-for-profit hospital system to pay taxes

A state judge has ruled a healthcare provider system in Minnesota has to pay personal property taxes on office equipment in its corporate headquarters because it runs for-profit operations as well as not-for-profit hospitals, Modern Healthcare reports.

Details about the case involving ProHealth Care are found at Modern Healthcare. (Registration required.)

UBS fight with IRS convinces Swiss banks to drop U.S. clients

More ripples from the UBS-IRS standoff: Some Swiss banks reportedly aren't accepting or are cutting off U.S. clients out of concern the Internal Revenue Service might get into a similar fight with them over client account information as it has with UBS AG.

DowJones Newswires says it's "a sign that UBS AG's high-profile spat with the Internal Revenue Service is chipping away at Switzerland's private banking industry."

The IRS is after information about the UBS accounts of 52,000 U.S. citizens in a major tax-evasion probe, challenging not just UBS but Swiss bank-secrecy laws.

UBS fight with IRS convinces Swiss banks to drop U.S. clients

More ripples from the UBS-IRS standoff: Some Swiss banks reportedly aren't accepting or are cutting off U.S. clients out of concern the Internal Revenue Service might get into a similar fight with them over client account information as it has with UBS AG.

More ripples from the UBS-IRS standoff: Some Swiss banks reportedly aren't accepting or are cutting off U.S. clients out of concern the Internal Revenue Service might get into a similar fight with them over client account information as it has with UBS AG.

DowJones Newswires says it's "a sign that UBS AG's high-profile spat with the Internal Revenue Service is chipping away at Switzerland's private banking industry."

The IRS is after information about the UBS accounts of 52,000 U.S. citizens in a major tax-evasion probe, challenging not just UBS but Swiss bank-secrecy laws.

Legal tactic helps uncover offshore bank accounts

The Washington Post features an article today about a special trial attorney at the Internal Revenue Service who is credited with devising a legal tactic for uncovering the identities of offshore account holders.

John McDougal and his team at the IRS began in 2002 to use "John Doe" summonses on U.S. companies that process financial transactions for Americans holding questionable foreign accounts.

"The summonses were instrumental in helping the Justice department secure a settlement under which UBS admitted engaging in a scheme aiding U.S. clients hiding income from the IRS," the article says.

U.S. says it will continue case against UBS; plea agreement reached with UBS client

The Justice Department issued a statement denying it was considering dropping a high-profile case against UBS AG as reported in The New York Times.

The Justice Department is trying to force the Swiss bank to provide the names of 52,000 U.S. clients suspected of offshore tax evasion.

“While the department is always willing to consider settlement in any case, the suggestion that the department is planning to drop this suit is simply untrue," Justice Department spokesman Charles Miller said in an emailed statement, according to various media reports. "The department is continuing with the case against UBS and will file its brief asking the court to enforce the summons on June 30.”

At the same time, news agencies reported that Swiss Finance Minister Hans-Rudolf Merz said a deal was being discussed.

"I can confirm that efforts are underway," Merz told Swiss radio while in Berlin for a meeting of the Organisation for Co-operation and Economic Development.

In a separate development, a UBS client pleaded guilty to one count of filing a false tax return for tax year 2004. He also admitted that he had failed to file Reports of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBARs) disclosing his UBS bank account for years 2001 through 2007. Sentencing is set for Sept. 30.

Justice Department and UBS settlement reported likely

The New York Times reported today that the U.S. and UBS AG are likely to reach a settlement possibly as soon as mid-July over the Justice Department's efforts to get the names of 52,000 UBS clients who the U.S. says evaded taxes.

The Times said that Swiss government officials are considering giving the Justice Department filings made in Swiss court by extremely wealthy UBS clients, which would provide the names of some of the 52,000 UBS clients the Justice Department is investigating for tax evasion. The U.S. then would drop the case.

The agreement "would allow Switzerland to say that it has not breached its own secrecy laws," the Times said.

Hong Kong warns banks about tax evasion

The Hong Kong government has sent a letter to the top executives of all banks in the city warning them not to assist any clients in evading taxes, whether domestic or foreign taxes.

Karen Kemp, executive director of banking policy for Hong Kong, said in the letter that any banks that facilitate tax evasion could be prosecuted for money laundering.

"Further, it goes without saying that [banks] should not market themselves or schemes operated by them as being available for this purpose or incentivise their staff (whether through payments or bonuses or otherwise) to engage in such conduct," Kemp said.

 

The letter comes in advance of tax-information exchange treaties that Hong Kong expects to work out with the U.S. and other countries.