US tax authorities focus on HSBC clients

by Gill Montia

Story link: US tax authorities focus on HSBC clients

US tax authorities have turned their attention to HSBC clients with tax evasion tendencies, following the success of the case brought against Swiss investment bank, UBS.

Last month, the Swiss parliament passed a bill that allowed UBS to hand over details of American account holders suspected of tax evasion, the US and Swiss governments having previously agreed that the bank should release details of 4,450 clients identified by the US Internal Revenue Service.

According to reports, HSBC customers with undeclared offshore accounts in Singapore and India are now under scrutiny, in what would appear to be a wider campaign against tax evaders in the US than expected.

It is not yet clear whether HSBC has co-operated and revealed client names but the bank’s strategy in dealing with official enquiries will have to take into account the outcome of the UBS case and the fact that the Swiss bank was at one point threatened with prosecution in the US.