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Originally Posted by Webby
Tell that one to an offshore bank manager and he'd blow a fuse! 
The last thing on this earth that an offshore bank has *any* interest in is discussing client accounts with some foreign tax collection agency which has nada jurisdiction.
It is a criminal offense in most jurisdictions to even discuss accounts.
But sure.. if there is drugs blah involved.. they will open up accounts. |
You are not really correct. they share all information all the time when there is reason to believe a crime has been committed - which includes tax fraud/tax evasion (the frequent topic of conversation - although people don't realize thats what they are talking about with thier great ideas).
NO bank manager is going to tell you that they dont share information with other tax authorities. They do all the time. They don't do it as a matter of policy - like updating them once a month on your account status or something. But they do it. You have no privacy or security if you are not legal in your own jurisdiction and that jurisdiction where you are working or have accounts.
its precisely that "if there is drugs blah involved..." and that is the catch. ... and that LONG list of possible "blahs" that allow them to share information with the IRS or other tax authorities. anti terrorism laws, money laundering laws, banking laws, rules and regulations world wide have changed quite a bit in the last 3 years... there is no blanket protection as there was 20 years ago. its a brave new world today.
i hear a lot of conflicting stories about what you can and cannot do as well as what people i work with will and will not do. my experience is that credible banking institutions will never try to sell you on the idea that everything is confidential, "its illegal to share information" etc. That has nothing to do with banking laws and information sharing agreements between various countries.
what they want is that you conduct business legally and that you can explain everything. for the most part, if some suspicion exists as to the origins of funds, you/your company is being investigated for tax fraud and so on... they will turn everything they have over without question or delay to the IRS. It happens constantly. Look at Yukos or Aeroflot or any of the big companies in Russia that were doing a lot of business through Switzerland. Its not a problem for any tax authority to get that info if there is reason to believe there was tax fraud, money laundering etc etc etc. it happens everyday.