Tax Law Blog

Criminal tax investigations are often aimed at business owners or C-suite executives.  Just as often, it is the rank-and-file who perpetrate tax fraud.

The latest arrest in the international investigation of corruption involving Brazil’s state-run oil company Petrobras has led to a guilty plea.

On the local and global stage, celebrities and high-asset persons turn up in headlines for alleged tax fraud. In Spain, Shakira is facing allegations that she failed to pay more than $16 million in taxes.

While court cases and newspapers call out celebrities and high-wealth individuals who face civil or criminal tax investigations, less attention is paid to the people who make those tax mistakes possible.

Move over Trinidad, the United States of America has joined the European blacklist for its lax tax reporting and jurisdictional tax opacity.

A French court recently pounded Swiss financial giant UBS Group with a record high fine and penalty after finding the entity sought and then helped clients stash their unreported cash in Swiss accounts to avoid paying French taxes.

It started with a 63-count indictment in 2013.  It ended with 121 months in federal prison in 2019.  Here is the story of how not to manage your affairs if you are charged with tax fraud.

A former Swiss banker faces a life in exile after conviction on charges of commercial espionage after he reportedly sold details about German tax evaders to government officials.

As far as reputation, the United States lost some gloss this year.  A non-governmental organization (NGO) that combats global corruption ranked the US six spots lower in their annual Corruption Perceptions Index.

The 2019 winter government shutdown was another blow to the beleaguered agency that collects your taxes and checks to see whether your FBAR is all that it should be.