24/02/2014
US tax evaders like Switzerland
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } More than 40% of US citizens who had hidden money outside their country had done so in accounts in Switzerland, according to a study which has recently been published by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), dating from the first partial US tax amnesty in 2009. The study was carried out at the request of an ad-hoc US Senate committee. The data leave little room for interpretation: 5427 out of 12,899 accounts analysed were in Switzerland. This is followed by a group of countries, the United Kingdom, Canada, France, Israel and Germany, which represent 24% of the total, with 8% in the United Kingdom and 4% each for the other countries. The US tax amnesty promised fraudsters reduced fined and an exemption from prison in exchange for settling up concerning their assets. More than 40,000 taxpayers came forward, which allowed the United States to recuperate USD5.5bn. The study also focused on the geographical origin of fraudsters. More than half of US fraudsters were in California, New York and Florida. California led with 24%, followed by New York (18%) and Florida (10%).
