The final word is out. UBS is handing over information on roughly 5,000 accounts and the IRS will back off its fishing expeditions on the remaining ~42,000 accounts.

Frankly, I’ve written so much about the UBS mess over the last year that I am sick of it…and I’m sick of the greedy, crooked UBS bankers and staff that stupidly thought they could use Swiss bank secrecy laws to cover their illegal tax evasion advice, while running up fat fees for themselves and billions in deposits for UBS.

This thoughtless criminal activity not only added to the instability of UBS – already $50 billion in the hole because of bad investments exposed by the global recession – but their conduct needlessly called into question the admirable privacy policies and bank secrecy laws of the Swiss government.

Asking for it

UBS tarnished not only its own reputation, but also that of a major nation and its people.

But worst of all, what UBS did allowed the tax bullies at the IRS to:

1) smear thousands of honest Americans who bank offshore;
2) attempt to scare away thousands more who could benefit by doing so;
3) pretend to extend U.S. tax law jurisdiction to the entire world;
4) use blatant economic blackmail against not only an errant bank, but against a friendly country that has long been a faithful ally and against its 7.6 million people.

The agreement lifts the threat of U.S. criminal prosecution against UBS, the world’s number two wealth manager by assets.

The IRS was not only willing to risk endangering the bank’s existence, but it could have dealt a major blow to the Swiss and U.S. economies. (UBS has 20,000 American employees).

The Anti-Offshore PR Campaign Rages On

You can expect that the left wing, anti-tax haven crowd will play this as the death, not only of Swiss bank secrecy, but the beginning of the end for all offshore financial centers.

Don’t they Wish!

IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman (left) crowed, “It’s a real sense that the world of bank secrecy is eroding.” According to The Times, “The agreement is likely to unnerve American customers of UBS who do not know if their names will be divulged, and could deter others from opening Swiss accounts in the future.”

On that second point, we hope not. There are still plenty of opportunities to open an offshore account with a sound financial institution…which is – sadly – is not necessarily the case in the United States.

And on the first point, I can speak for the whole of the Sovereign Society when I say that we don’t really care if illegal tax evaders are nervous. They should be.

But we certainly hope that honest, tax paying Americans (and others) who desire real financial privacy, true asset protection and expert investment advice will realize the fact that they still have the right to employ Swiss banks, investment advisors, insurance and annuity specialists – and not be scared away from the very real benefits offered by the world’s leading offshore financial center.

Swiss Banks Still Available

Whether all this will change the Swiss banking industry’s culture of secrecy based on law is doubtful in my opinion. But the IRS has made clear that their pursuit of tax evaders will not stop at UBS.

Some smaller, centuries-old private Swiss banks, however, are stepping up their efforts to attract American money, given the importance of foreign clients to the nation’s financial institutions.

Understand that the Sovereign Society does not condone tax evasion in any form, a point we have made repeatedly in our publications throughout our entire existence.

Of course there is a simple way for you to avoid personal tax troubles – file the proper IRS reports on time and pay your taxes when they’re due, as we have often explained.

We Are Prepared

To tell the truth, we at the Sovereign Society saw this coming a long time ago…

We meet regularly with Swiss and other offshore bankers, and we have agreements with reputable Swiss banks willing to accept new accounts from those who identify themselves as Sovereign Society members.

These arrangements are in full compliance with IRS and SEC rules and other U.S. laws. U.S. clients must sign an IRS Form W-9 that allows an offshore bank to report required information to the IRS.

As it has been since our founding 11 years ago, our staff is available to assist in opening a Swiss or other offshore account. Take advantage of these special Swiss banking arrangements and the advice of our Swiss advisors by visiting our member’s only website today.

We at the Sovereign Society believe that personal and financial privacy is an inherent human right, a requirement for maintaining the human condition with dignity and respect.

In all this ruckus about UBS and the IRS, the basic issues are preservation of our personal freedom and liberty versus complete government control of our lives and our fortunes.

Yours Truly,

Bob Bauman