A new law signed by President Obama last month makes it much harder for U.S. citizens to evade taxes by hiding money in offshore accounts. Foreign financial institutions will now face a 30% tax on their U.S. investments if they refuse to provide information about accounts held by U.S. citizens.
None of this is a surprise. With huge budgets deficits, Congress is closing offshore tax loopholes and making it harder for U.S. citizens to shelter money in foreign jurisdictions. You can read about the new law in the March 28, 2010 New York Times article by Gretchen Morgenson titled “Death of a Loophole, and Swiss Banks Will Mourn”.
As I have mentioned many times before… This does not mean there is anything inherently wrong with offshore trusts– as long as they are not used for unlawful tax evasion.