Thread: Mexico asks U.S. for help in finding hidden assets in U.S.

Mexico asks U.S. for help in finding hidden assets in U.S. banks

Updated 5m ago |
By Kevin McCoy, USA TODAY

Hoping to replicate the United States' new success in hunting suspected tax evaders, Mexico is seeking financial data from foreign banks where its citizens are suspected of hiding assets.

But the accounts being targeted aren't in Switzerland or other historic tax havens. They're in the U.S.

Mexico Secretary of Finance Agustin Carstens outlined the strategy in a Feb. 9 letter seeking help for the tax crackdown from U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner. He wrote that some Mexicans have stashed funds in U.S. banks, knowing the assets won't be disclosed back home.

Carstens, noting that the U.S. doesn't tax interest paid to non-resident aliens and that the two countries lack a way to identify the home of foreign depositors, wrote, "We simply are allowing both the tax avoiders and the criminals to move their money untaxed and benefit from it."

He asked Geithner to authorize data exchanges on interest banks in one country pay to residents of the other — a system the U.S. and Mexico have with Canada.

Such a mechanism would "provide us with a powerful tool to detect, prevent and combat tax evasion, money laundering, terrorist financing, drug trafficking and organized crime," Carstens wrote.

The Treasury Department said it had answered the request but wouldn't provide details.

Mexico's finance ministry declined to comment.

American Bankers Association spokesman Jonathan Snowling said the group had not taken a position on the issue.

Mexico's request came as the U.S. Justice Department pursued a successful federal court battle that requires Swiss banking giant UBS to provide account data for an estimated 4,450 wealthy American clients suspected of hiding money offshore.

Coupled with that battle, the IRS has offered suspected tax evaders lesser penalties if they come forward under a voluntary disclosure program that's scheduled to expire next week. Although the IRS hasn't disclosed the participation rate, the agency said there has been "a dramatic increase in the number of taxpayers making voluntary disclosures this year."

Carstens hopes to achieve similar success, said Robert Goulder, who first reported the request for Tax Analysts, a non-profit publisher where he's the chief editor for international tax issues.

Mexico's proposal could benefit the U.S. by targeting a funding source for violent drug gangs that operate on both sides of the border, Goulder said.

http://www.usatoday.com/money/industrie ... xico_N.htm

Gee this sounds very "fishy" wonder who we can report this to.....

I say we just load of their "hidden assets", what, about 40 million of them?, put them buses and drive them to the center of Mexico, turn them lose and drive the buses back home.

Their "hidden assets"? We should be able to liquidate them and try and pay some of the costs these "hidden assets" are costing us. I'm looking for a job. Today I saw a posting for a Spanish Interpreter for a school. Pays $25.00 and hour. Benefits. Vacations. Not bad, huh?

It drives me crazy when politicians and special interest groups tell me these people are paying their way and contributing more than they are costing. What a crock!

I will tell you where they precious assets are at. The illegals not paying taxes to either country, while sending remittances home. And the stupidity of American banks giving them credit cards and loans by not asking any questions. And guaranteed that the Mexican drug cartels are paying their fair share of taxes.

Tough noogies for mexico. If that money is found, it should go to paying off the billions of tax dollars sucked up by mexican nationals here illegally .

This could get interesting when Mexican politicians, law enforcement and people who don't pay any Mexican income taxes because they claim that they don't have a job, and their relatives, are all discovered to have large back accounts in the U.S. Even if they get scared and come to the U.S. now and withdraw all of their money the records will still be there.