Financial Transparency Coalition

WASHINGTON - Jeffrey P. Chernick, of Stanfordville, N.Y., pleaded guilty today to charges of filing a false tax return, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced. Chernick, who owns a corporation which represents toy manufacturers in China and Hong Kong, appeared today before Judge James I. Cohn in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., and accepted responsibility for concealing more than $8 million in Swiss bank accounts.

ZURICH (Reuters) - Alan Gold, the U.S. judge presiding over an tax trial against Switzerland's UBS, will hold a status call at 1245 GMT on July 29 in which the Justice Department and the Swiss bank are due to advise him about progress towards a settlement of the damaging tax dispute.

Wall Street Journal: The Internal Revenue Service has stepped up scrutiny of offshore accounts and foreign income, an enforcement campaign that could sweep up tens of thousands of taxpayers.

Strategic dispute resolution has become critical for companies to sustain their global transfer pricing strategies. Now, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) announced its International Transfer Pricing 2009 book which predicts an increase in disputes around the world as more and more tax authorities aggressively attempt to enforce their transfer pricing rules. “In 2009 we expect that several major territories will adopt new or revised requirements for transfer pricing and the impact of the OECD’s discussion draft on business restructurings will be evaluated,” said Garry Stone, a Partner with PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP.