WSJ Quotes Scott Michel on U.S. Crackdown of Offshore Tax Evasion

Caplin & Drysdale President Scott D. Michel was quoted by The Wall Street Journal concerning the U.S. government's investigation of at least 100 suspected offshore tax evaders.  The article also addresses the government's increased scrutiny of smaller banks that may have helped taxpayers hide money in secret overseas accounts.  In an excerpt taken from the article, Scott said "The government is clearly casting a wider net.  We're getting calls from people who have without warning received grand-jury subpoenas for their foreign account records."

A federal judge in New York recently approved an IRS summons demanding more records from UBS's correspondent account for Wegelin Bank. The government now is focusing on U.S. taxpayers with accounts at smaller Swiss banks that didn't have U.S. branches but served customers through U.S. correspondent banking.  "This summons is a new tactic, because other banks in the U.S. hold correspondent accounts for banks located everywhere," remarked Scott.

Please go to The Wall Street Journal's website to view the complete article.