Tax Haven | featured news

It's a data leak involving tens of thousands of offshore bank accounts, naming dozens of prominent figures around the world. And new details are being released by the day — raising the prospect that accounts based on promises of secrecy and tax shelter could someday offer neither.

For decades, Switzerland was the place where money went to hide. Cash sent to its mountain aeries was protected by some of the strictest secrecy laws in the world.

Thanks to lax international tax rules the world’s super rich have siphoned at least $21 trillion into secretive tax-free havens, according to a study by UK campaign group Tax Justice Network.

The era of banking secrecy may be coming to an end.

The Internal Revenue Service on Tuesday disclosed the criteria being used by the Swiss banking giant UBS to select names of American clients that will be turned over to the agency as part of a settlement of a tax evasion case.

The Government Accountability Office likes to point its finger at Luxembourg and the Cayman Islands for sheltering tax cheats. But according to the U.K.-based Tax Justice Network, the United States is the biggest tax shelter of 'em all, thanks to the great state of Delaware.

Under an amnesty program, the IRS is allowing taxpayers to avoid prosecution for failing to report those accounts. Tax attorneys have been besieged by wealthy clients who are lining up to apply.

Wealthy U.S.

OECD confirms the country will go off their grey list following the signing of a 12th agreement on Thursday.

U.S. regulators will receive the names as part of an investigation of Americans avoiding taxes through the use of offshore accounts.

The British Virgin Islands and the Cayman islands have joined the global "white list" of countries using internationally recognized tax standards, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said on Friday.