Rich tax dodgers ‘fess up, just ahead of the posse
The last time the United States government offered amnesty to wealthy tax dodgers with hidden overseas accounts was 2003, and the amnesty program didn’t do very well. Only 1500 or so lawbreakers came forward to admit they hadn’t paid their taxes.
This time, the amnesty program is doing much better. So far, according to the Internal Revenue Service, more than 14,700 tax dodgers have come forward to admit their failure to pay taxes. The IRS credits the widespread publicity about the decision of the Swiss banking giant UBS to pay $780 million and admit criminal wrongdoing in setting up hidden bank accounts. In addition to the fine, UBS agreed to turn over the names of more than 4,000 of its American clients.
According to the I.R.S. documents, UBS will generally disclose American clients who had unreported accounts of at least a million Swiss francs (about $988,000). UBS will also disclose Americans who were the owners of secret offshore sham company accounts with that total. The accounts in question cover 2001 through 2008.
For accounts that UBS deems to have involved “tax fraud or the like” — a new term that covers concealment of funds, the submission of incorrect or false documents to UBS or the I.R.S., and what the I.R.S. terms “a scheme of lies” — the balance may be less than a million Swiss francs but more than 250,000 Swiss francs (about $247,000).
Well, that lit a match under ‘em!
The rich get a lot of credit in some quarters for paying most of the taxes in this great country. (A higher amount in dollar terms, not in proportion to their incomes.) But there is another side to that reality; the rich have infinitely more ways to avoid paying taxes than the rest of us do since they can hire lawyers and accountants to find perfectly legal tax dodges.
And then there is the old-fashioned but nevertheless popular method of setting up hidden offshore accounts.But that ploy may be getting a lot less popular.
“We are talking about billions of dollars coming into the U.S. Treasury,” Mr. Shulman said. He said that Americans living or working in over 70 countries had come forward, some by contacting diplomatic attachés, adding that “we had a flood at the end.”
The money the government collects won’t clear up in the red ink in the budget, but every billion helps.
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Guides
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2010 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
31 comments Add your comment
Turd Ferguson
November 18th, 2009
12:06 pm
“But there is another side to that reality; the rich have infinitely more ways to avoid paying taxes than the rest of us do since they can hire lawyers and accountants to find perfectly legal tax dodges.”
And thats a bad thing? I say congratulations for being successful and able to afford ways to keep said monies away from the wasteful, wasteful, federal govt!
PS…they will find other ways…tee hee.
Betsy
November 18th, 2009
12:21 pm
Wow, you are so wrong. You say the rich pay more dollars in taxes but not in proportion to their incomes. Good grief, lady. And while you’re at your picking at people who bother to work hard for lots of money in this – at least until now – achievement-oriented society, which you would love to destroy, you might at least pick on others at the other end who don’t bother to pay taxes and should. Those who get everything handed to them – as opposed to working for it – get no sympathy from me. I, an average, middle-class, middle-income, modest-spending, believer-in-capitalism citizen, am sick to death of maligning citizens who have enough education, training, brains and savvy to earn a good living. Many of those who don’t are so used to being cared for by the various governmental agencies, they wouldn’t know a 1040 if it jumped up and bit them.
Steve
November 18th, 2009
12:22 pm
Has someone warned Tim Geithner and Charlie Rangel about this???
Christina
November 18th, 2009
12:31 pm
Want a way to ensure no more loopholes for the “evil” rich – FairTax!!!!
The American People
November 18th, 2009
1:01 pm
How about that Aaron Carter from Dancing with the Stars? He’s into the IRS for $ 1,010,635.08. Ha Ha, pay your taxes son.
MAC
November 18th, 2009
1:12 pm
The dirty little secret is that most of these offshore tax dodgers are hypocrite Democrat supporters who support raising taxes on the rest of the so-called “rich”.
Jack
November 18th, 2009
1:34 pm
I suppose the mayoral candidate, Reed, is among the rich since he paid past due taxes just before announcing.
Jimmy62
November 18th, 2009
1:39 pm
Until the tax cheats in Congress get thrown out, I have a had time making the moral case for paying taxes if you can get away with it. When the people who write the rules don’t follow them, why should the rest of us?
Logan from Loganville
November 18th, 2009
1:46 pm
The people that complain about taxes and “wasteful federal government “, are revealing that they are uninformed and parroting what they have heard someone on a conservative talk show spout. Explore and list what your taxes pay for.
Betsy-Do some research and compare the government assistance and or favors handed out to the rich,corporations and big business to the ‘welfare queens’.
A tip–those people who have accounts at UBS and not report income are NOT “Hard working”.
H.L. Mencken said “A person who has done well and brings up patriotism is trying to sell something”. Just thought I would throw that in.
oldtimer
November 18th, 2009
2:16 pm
Yea and a bunch work at the White House and other government offices.
Reality
November 18th, 2009
2:20 pm
The top 1 percent of income earners paid 40 percent of all federal income taxes in 2006, while the bottom 50 percent paid 3 percent. Further, 32 percent of all tax returns with positive adjusted gross incomeTotal income (before subtracting deductions or taxes) minus deductions. , 43 million total, filed in 2006 were from people who paid no federal income tax at all.
Betsy
November 18th, 2009
2:30 pm
Mencken also said, “On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart’s desire at last, and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron.” We may be there.
sam
November 18th, 2009
2:42 pm
betsy, we were there and about 10 months we finally got out of it.
CPAinLouisville
November 18th, 2009
2:51 pm
I am in agreement with Reality and Logan on this. Sorry Betsy. I am a CPA and I work with many wealthy companies and individuals. In my 16 years of experience and all the tax law changes that have come in those 16 years, the upper class is not only taxed at a higher rate but on more income and subject to an Alternative Minimum Tax that most IRS employees can’t even explain to the average American. I also do work for middle and lower class individuals. I will agree that they do seem to get a lot of refund at the end of the year for not making much money during the year, but I personally don’t have a problem with that. They are working, they are filing taxes and they are getting back what they paid to the government that was withheld from them. Now, that EIC tax credit is a different story, that does need to be scrutinized! All & all, I think it’s good for the IRS to offer tax amnesty in situations like this for other reasons, like overcrowding jails with tax evasion offenders (non-violent, obviously!). Would you rather pay for tax dodger’s meals and lodging?
sam
November 18th, 2009
2:54 pm
one more thought before going back to work, this top 1% who supposedly paid 40% of gross taxes..these are not individuals, its not people who get up go to work, work harder, or are smarter than the rest of us..for the most part it is super wealthy families who make a living off inherited money and finding ways to hide that money (offshore accounts, marginal charities, trust funds, etc)..generation to generation it is self perpetuating wealth…it should be taxed at a higher rate…most of these people were born on 3rd base and have the nerve to whine and cry about the big taxes they are supposed to pay..boo hoo,
jt
November 18th, 2009
3:01 pm
Maybe some of these “greedy” tax dodgers can get AG Holder’s help.
From a great American, Michelle Malkin-
” Fugitive commodities trader Marc Rich, on the run for evading nearly $50 million in taxes, found the best lawyer he could buy: former Democratic White House counsel and intimate friend of Eric Holder, Jack Quinn. Despite his denials, memos showed Holder knew of the pardon in advance, failed to notify prosecutors and the FBI that it was coming, “and even gave Quinn public-relations advice on getting out the ‘legal merits of the case.’” The evidence clearly shows Holder and Quinn violated department protocols and colluded to keep the Justice Department out of the pardon deal.
Appearing contrite at his Senate confirmation hearing, Holder confessed:
I’ve accepted the responsibility of making those mistakes. I’ve never tried to hide. I’ve never tried to blame anybody else.
What I’ve always said was that, given my—given the opportunity to do it differently, I certainly would have.”
jt
November 18th, 2009
3:02 pm
Eric Holder’s law firm also makes millions out of defending Gitmo Detainees.
Shawny
November 18th, 2009
3:11 pm
Thank you Cynthia for making the argument for a flat income tax. No places to hide, no deductions. Exactly what we need. Like the rich paying a higher percentage of those with lower incomes, then fine. Make it progressive. Call it a Fair Tax, if you will, but for me, make it income based, not a consumption tax. A consumption tax would be problematic.
Turd Ferguson
November 18th, 2009
3:17 pm
Logan from Loganville
November 18th, 2009
1:46 pm
*TEWY* Just wrong wrong wrong.
Turd Ferguson
November 18th, 2009
3:18 pm
Fair tax…yet another Oxymoron.
BTW…you prefer the devil ya know or the devil ya dont know. I will contend with what we have currently.
jconservative
November 18th, 2009
3:27 pm
” 43 million total, filed in 2006 were from people who paid no federal income tax at all.”
To be correct that is 43 million people who did not owe any money to the IRS when they filed their return. I paid many thousands of dollars in taxes in 2006 but actually received a small refund from the IRS.
I am part of that 43 million. This has been distorted over the years.
The only point I would make on the tax discussion is that if you do not wish to pay taxes, demand that your members of congress start cutting government. Say 20% across the board with no exceptions. Good luck!
If history proves one thing it is that the modern American wants his
government to solve problems but does not want to pay for problems being solved.
Catherine
November 18th, 2009
3:33 pm
Betsy,
You are an embarrassment to conservatives and the reason we lost the last election. Keep it up and you’ll get what you ask for: an Uber Moron in the White house in 2010. Maybe Palin can choose you for her running mate.
Turd Ferguson
November 18th, 2009
3:44 pm
Betsy
November 18th, 2009
2:30 pm
With ObaMao we are there.
Chris Broe
November 18th, 2009
4:57 pm
“Well, that lit a match under ‘em!”
With all the wet-gaseous exchanges on this blog, Cynthia, please dont be so reckless with matches.
With the over-sensitive trolls taking offense every time a logical flaw in their argument is exposed, it’s hard enough to clear the air around here without you lighting matches every time we log on.
Jklol
Flame on!
El Jefe
November 18th, 2009
5:47 pm
Basically Cynthia, you’re so ignorant!
The “rich” pay more in dollars and percent of income.
The tax system is so far out of whack, that a flat tax (as we have in Georgia or so it seems) would be infinitively better all around. In practice it would have to be a combination of the fair and flat tax. Got to cover everyone.
HOWEVER, if we went to a Direct tax as described in Article I of the constitution, we would be in even better shape.
But, then again, it would mean Congress would have to give up some power – only being able to tax the States and not the people.
El Jefe
November 18th, 2009
5:51 pm
BTW, in addition, the more you tax the rich (look at John Kerry and the Kennedy Clan), the more creative ways will be found to lessen the tax burden – especially when businesses are involved.
El Jefe
November 18th, 2009
5:53 pm
Catherine,
We can not evict the Moron in Chief until 2012. 2010 is just the opening shot.
TnGelding
November 18th, 2009
5:55 pm
Hang ‘em high! Seriously, if the tax code was rigidly adhered to there would be no deficit. Much of the deficit could be eliminated, too, by adopting a simpler tax code that wouldn’t cost so much time and money to comply with.
TnGelding
November 18th, 2009
6:01 pm
Moron? He and the fed stopped Duhbya’s recession in 6 short months. How about a little credit where credit is due? You can bet it won’t be in the third year of his first term before the economy starts adding jobs like it did under the Debtors-in-Chief, Reagan and Bush. And don’t try to blame the emergency actions taken on Obama. They rest with Bush, plain and simple. Can you say fuzzy math and risky schemes?
Betsy
November 19th, 2009
12:39 pm
Catherine, since I voted for McCain/Palin, I am NOT the reason “we” lost the last election. And yep, the “Uber Moron” is already in the White House.
Someone is under the delusion that the recession was stopped in 6 months by Mr. Moron. Oh, really, TnGelding? It hasn’t stopped.
Spc Scott
November 22nd, 2009
12:45 am
Man the political rhetoric is infinitely amusing, conservatives blaming liberals. Liberals blaming conservatives. All while the gap between rich and poor has been growing throughout the years as the House, Congress, and the White house changed hand back and forth back and forth.
It is like a dance with a two step pattern that most people dont seem to be aware of. Until there is a push for serious change to benefit the majority rather than the few things will keep getting worse.
Trickle down effect my ass.