IRS Corporate Audit Division Will Examine UBS Tax Evasion Cases
By Ryan J. Donmoyer, Bloomberg.com
The U.S. Internal Revenue Service is shifting audits of wealthy Americans suspected of offshore tax evasion to an elite division that usually examines businesses as it prepares to receive data on 4,450 UBS AG Swiss bank accounts.
The tax agency posted internal job listings yesterday seeking auditors to work for a newly created office within its Large and Mid-Size Business division that will be tasked with monitoring what it called the “global high-wealth industry.”
The move centralizes responsibility for auditing wealthy individuals suspected of offshore tax evasion in a unit with the most experience navigating international tax treaties and untangling complex cross-border business structures.
“That’s where the most sophistication is at IRS,” said Michael Murphy, a former deputy IRS commissioner who is now a consultant for the law firm Sutherland Asbill & Brennan LLP in Washington.
Responsibility for auditing wealthy individuals is currently split among IRS divisions devoted to small businesses and self-employed wage earners and investors, which don’t have as much experience in cross-border transactions, Murphy said.
The IRS says it anticipates handling up to 10,000 new cases related to UBS, including thousands of people who come forward voluntarily in exchange for reduced penalties before Sept. 23.
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