Financial Transparency Coalition

How international pressure is helping to open up Switzerland, but more is needed to make a real dent in international poverty.

In 2010 Congress enacted the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), which aims to combat tax evasion by U.S. citizens holding investments in offshore accounts. Under this law, the IRS and the U.S. Department of the Treasury require U.S. taxpayers holding financial assets on foreign soil to report those assets. FATCA also requires foreign financial institutions to report certain information about U.S. taxpayers directly to the IRS. The law phases these requirements in several stages. Starting in 2013, the IRS will require participating banks to conduct due diligence for identifying new and pre-existing U.S. accounts and reporting requirements will...

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Executives at Swiss banks Julius Baer (BAER.VX) and Credit Suisse (CSGN.VX) expect to avoid a U.S. tax investigation into their private banking businesses on the same scale as their peer UBS (UBSN.VX), they told The Financial Times on Sunday.

The Internal Revenue Services intensified hunt for tax evaders overseas has caused Switzerland's two biggest banks to say goodbye to its American customers.