Swiss bank UBS to divulge more than 4,000 account names, thousands more to come!WASHINGTON (AP) -- Swiss banking giant UBS AG agreed Wednesday to turn over to the IRS the details of 4,450 accounts suspected of holding undeclared assets by American customers, piercing Switzerland's long-standing tradition of banking secrecy.
IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman said the accounts held $18 billion in assets at one time. Many have since been closed, he said.
The deal will give the Internal Revenue Service thousands of long-sought account names, Shulman said, and is expected to provide even more UBS clients who voluntarily disclose their financial details to the agency.
UBS has an estimated 52,000 accounts of U.S. customers. The IRS chief said the 4,450 accounts being relinquished to the agency were the ones most suspected of containing undeclared assets.
Account holders will be notified before their names are released to the IRS. The names will first go to the Swiss Federal Tax Administration. Account holders will then be able to appeal their release to the IRS before Switzerland's Federal Administrative Court.
With the news, UBS shares were down 2.1 percent at 16.55 Swiss francs ($15.51) on the Zurich exchange.
Afterall, The Swiss Bankers Association issued a statement in support of the agreement.
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