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News
U.S. probe targets UBS
banker visits
Expat workers happy to be
U.S. authorities are focusing on
client visits by Swiss-based bankers
in Qatar
from UBS in their efforts to identify
U.S. citizens with accounts at the
More than 80% of expatriate
bank who may have evaded tax, a
employees said they were happy
Swiss newspaper has reported.
they had come to Qatar, according
U.S. tax authorities want to force
to a jobs and employment survey.
UBS to disclose the identity of an
Commissioned by tourist and
estimated 52,000 U.S. holders of
residents’ website qatarvisitor.com
secret Swiss accounts suspected of and community portal
dodging taxes. This does, however, iloveqatar.net (ILQ), the survey
appear to breach Swiss bank secrecy attempted to assess how people
laws.
found work and how that work had
important factor. A substantial than 220 employees working in
A possible compromise involving
changed their lives.
proportion - 28.1% - declared they Qatar.
the names of account-holders
87.6% of employees approved
sought work in Qatar in order to Qatar Visitor editor Philip Beech
visited by Swiss bankers would
the relocation to Qatar. More than
experience a new culture. said: “We hope that the results of
identify about 10,000 people, the
30% said they found work via the
Swiss weekly Sonntags-Zeitung said.
A small percentage (5.3%) said this survey will help give our users
Internet.
A UBS spokesman declined to
they were “looking for adventure.” an idea of how to look for work in
On the Internet, 16.1% found
comment, stating that the
About 57.2% of those surveyed Qatar, the likelihood of finding
negotiations were a matter for the
jobs via job sites, 7.2% by jobs
had a graduate or post-graduate work and also what to expect when
two governments. A Swiss Justice
advertised directly on employers’
degree, while only 1.8% of they get here.
Department spokesman said the
websites and 7.2% through
respondents claimed to have no “The majority of our users
two sides had agreed not to
uploading their CVs to websites.
qualifications at all. actually come to qatarvisitor.com
comment while negotiations
Recruitment agencies accounted
Another finding showed that the looking for work,” Beech added.
continued.
for 16.6% of the positions found.
majority of employees coming to ILQ official Khalifa Saleh said:
A trial against UBS had been
“More than a quarter of those
Qatar experienced a sharp increase “The results clearly show that there
scheduled to start in Miami on July
who found work in Qatar via
in their salary with the proportion is increased usage of online portals
13, but the presiding judge agreed to
agencies claimed they had been
of those earning $1,000-$2,000 a by those seeking jobs in the Middle
delay proceedings until August 3 to illegally charged by those head- month - before relocating to Qatar East. It’s undoubtedly going to
allow time for a settlement. hunters,” a spokesperson said.
- going up from 13.7% to 25.7%. increase in popularity in the future.
Lawyers from UBS and the U.S. Responding to the question on
The proportion of those earning “Unfortunately, the results also
Internal Revenue Service were due why people made the move to
$2,001-$4,000 a month more than show that there is a greater need for
to meet on July 29. This could prove
Qatar, almost half of those surveyed
doubled from 12.4% to 25.7%. the regulation of employment
to be an opportunity for an
stated money was the most
The survey questioned more agencies,” Saleh added.
announcement of a delay. A
meeting between Swiss Finance
Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey and
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton is also scheduled for July 31.
The challenge for the two sides is
UBS agrees to hand over
to find a way for Switzerland to
hand over enough information to
satisfy the U.S. tax authorities
information on offshore accounts
without infringing Switzerland’s
strict laws protecting banking authorities. In June, the U.S. and Switzerland’s banking
secrecy.
Swiss governments came to an confidentiality laws. Eventually
Sonntags-Zeitung, citing a U.S.
information-sharing agreement information related to 4,450
source familiar with the
over how much the bank would accounts that were of “the greatest
negotiations, said one solution
divulge. The Swiss government interest” to the IRS were provided
would be to draw on the existing
says it will provide the requested to the American government
double taxation agreement between
information within a year. agency.
Switzerland and the U.S., which
allows Swiss authorities to provide
In February UBS admitted to Since UBS admitted its
official assistance to Washington to
taking part “in a scheme to involvement in the scheme, four of
help in a criminal investigation.
defraud the US.” The bank paid a its clients have agreed to plead
It said the U.S. justice department
$780 million fine, and gave the guilty to failing to disclose their
would seek the names of all U.S.
American Internal Revenue offshore bank accounts.
customers of UBS visited by bankers
Service the names of 250 clients Thousands of other clients have
from Switzerland between 2001 and
Switzerland's largest bank, UBS
who hid assets. The IRS then sued avoided penalties by sharing
2007.
AG, is set to give the U.S.
UBS for information regarding details of their accounts with the
UBS’s U.S. offshore business
government information on 4,450
52,000 accounts. The bank argued IRS under a special voluntary
employed around 60 customer
accounts suspected of hiding
that disclosing more information scheme that is scheduled to end in
advisers in Switzerland, the paper
money from the American tax
would be in breach of September.
said.
September 2009 Investment International www.investmentinternational.com
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