By STEPHEN OHLEMACHER and DEVLIN BARRETT, AP
[Retrieved by PD HERE]
WASHINGTON (Aug. 19) - Swiss banking giant UBS AG agreed Wednesday to turn over to the IRS the details of 4,450 accounts suspected of holding undeclared assets by American customers, piercing Switzerland's long-standing tradition of banking secrecy.
IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman said the accounts held $18 billion in assets at one time. Many have since been closed, he said.
The deal will give the Internal Revenue Service thousands of long-sought account names, Shulman said, and is expected to provide even more UBS clients who voluntarily disclose their financial details to the agency.
UBS has an estimated 52,000 accounts of U.S. customers. The IRS chief said the 4,450 accounts being relinquished to the agency were the ones most suspected of containing undeclared assets.
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Account holders will be notified before their names are released to the IRS. The names will first go to the Swiss Federal Tax Administration. Account holders will then be able to appeal their release to the IRS before Switzerland's Federal Administrative Court.
The process is expected to take several months, IRS officials said.
Shulman said the Swiss government has assured U.S. authorities that the release of the names conforms with both Swiss banking laws and the tax treaty signed by both countries. Shulman said the IRS reserves the right to resume its legal fight if any of the names are withheld.
"This issue is not going away, and people hiding assets and income offshore will find themselves increasingly at risk due to our efforts in this area," Shulman said.
UBS shares were down 2.1 percent at 16.55 Swiss francs ($15.51) on the Zurich exchange.
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