The US blasted a hole in Switzerland's famed bank secrecy yesterday, as Bern agreed to reveal the names of 4,450 wealthy Americans holding offshore accounts at UBS, the country's biggest bank.
Washington hailed the deal as a major victory in the clampdown on tax evasion and indicated it would be the foundation of future efforts to pursue other foreign banks.
“This agreement sends an unmistakable message to people hiding income and assets offshore,” said Douglas Shulman, commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service, the US tax authority. “The IRS will vigorously pursue tax cheats around the world, no matter how remote or secret the location.”