Mystery Billionaire Avoids Taxes on $200 Million
May 14, 2008 – 8:20 amThere is no doubt about it. The IRS appears to be getting help. Not only is it back in business enforcing the country’s tax law (Internal Revenue Code), but it seems to be getting a jump start in those cases that a few years ago would have been impossible to identify and develop.
In a recent criminal case, the Department of Justice, with the assistance of the Internal Revenue Service, filed a complaint naming Bradley Birkenfeld, an American who resides in Switzerland and worked for two large Swiss banks and Mario Staggl, a Liechtenstein-based owner of a trust company. Although the complaint, at this point, does not name the billionaire (known as “I.O.”) who allegedly avoided the taxes, as he yet remains unindicted co-conspirator.
However, according to the complaint, “I.O.” had about $200 million in assets in secret bank accounts in Switzerland and Liechtenstein. The complaint alleges Mr. Birkenfeld and Mr. Staggl assisted I.O. by falsifying Swiss bank docuemnts and IRS forms, and that they marketed the secret accounts to other Americans claiming that Swiss and Liechetenstein bank secrecy was “impenetrable”
As stated in this Wall Street Journal article, “it is unclear at the moment if this is part of the whistleblower case that started in Liechtenstein. But I suspect it is.”
What is more interesting than the fact that this case could be part of the tax whistleblower program, is that the comments in the Wall Street Journal blog at http://blogs.wsj.com/wealth/2008/05/13/mystery-billionaire-avoids-taxes-on-200-million/?mod=WSJBlog appear to support the program and the rewards available to those average people that could benefit by being a tax whistleblower.
I guess the average person sees that someone in the know could receive as little as 15% of $200,000,000 (i.e. $30,000,000) and as much 30% of $200,000,000 (i.e. $60,000,000) for participating in the Tax Whistleblower Program as a good thing for that individual and as a good thing for America