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Lawmakers Weigh Beneficial Ownership Rules, Approve Patriot Act Extension
By Colby Adams
printThe U.S. House of Representatives is set to vote on a Senate-approved bill that would pressure foreign financial institutions to disclose their U.S. clients and extend government subpoena powers of financial records. Lawmakers have scheduled a tentative vote Friday on a Senate jobs measure that would also clamp down on tax evasion by requiring foreign banks to disclose beneficial ownership data on their U.S. client accounts or have those clients face a 30 percent withholding tax on payments originating from the United States. Under the bill, foreign banks with clients that don't pay the withholding penalty would have to disclose...
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Draft U.S. Treasury Department rules on customer due diligence requirements for financial institutions would not prevent criminals from exploiting shell companies, according to Elise Bean, former staff director and chief counsel of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations.
As the U.S. Treasury Department readies beneficial ownership rules for financial institutions, senators are weighing the introduction of two competing corporate transparency bills that would require disclosures by private companies.
A global anti-money laundering group Monday outlined how countries should identify corporate owners in an effort to stop criminals from hiding behind shell companies and other legal entities.
A U.S. Treasury Department proposal that asks banks to identify corporate owners could also end up shining a light on the often murky hedge fund sector, say attorneys.
The Obama administration is pushing lawmakers to introduce legislation that would require corporations to obtain tax identification data that could be turned over to investigators.
U.S. officials will formally propose this month a long-planned rule that would require banks to identify the owners of their corporate clients, according to an Office of Management and Budget schedule.
Intergovernmental plans to better identify corporate owners will do little to thwart financial crooks, even at great cost to banks and governments, according to an academic report on offshore financial flows.
Thirty-four nations disclosed a finalized model plan Monday to regularly share financial data for tax enforcement purposes as part of a broader crackdown on tax dodgers and offshore jurisdictions.
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The head of a powerful U.S. Senate panel is pushing to include new corporate transparency measures as part of broader financial reform legislation, according to former and current staffers.
A U.S. lawmaker is calling on the Obama administration to restrict how federal investigators use a controversial subpoena to obtain financial and other records, echoing a bill that U.S. officials have voiced support for.
U.S. lawmakers approved a measure Wednesday to pressure foreign banks to disclose details about their American client accounts as part of an effort to clamp down on tax evasion.
U.S. financial regulators reiterated calls Friday for banks to verify the beneficial owners of corporate accounts, including trusts and private investment companies, as part of their anti-money laundering programs.
The U.S. House of Representatives Thursday approved an amended version of a Senate jobs bill that would impose withholding taxes on the transactions of some U.S. accountholders with foreign banks.
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The chairmen of the Senate Finance and House Ways and Means committees unveiled legislation Tuesday designed to help the I.R.S. find tax evaders with assets housed in offshore jurisdictions.
The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee approved a bill Thursday that would potentially discontinue use of a controversial emergency law enforcement subpoena by 2012.
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Five bank secrecy jurisdictions have acquiesced since Thursday to international calls for them to loosen privacy rules that allow tax evaders to hide their assets from governments, according to tax consultants and media reports.