Tax Authority obtains list of 8,000 Israelis with Swiss accounts
HSBC bank hands over information on over $10 billion in accounts; state extends amnesty for voluntary reporting
After an 18-month wait, the Israel Tax Authority received a list of some 8,000 Israeli-held bank accounts in the Swiss branch of HSBC bank.
The Authority said on Monday that the Israeli-held accounts at the bank are worth collectively some NIS 38 billion ($10 billion). It will now start going through the list to ensure that all accounts listed are compliant with Israeli tax regulations.
“Receiving this list is a significant achievement in the war against money laundering, and combines with legislative measures and other means to obtain information about Israelis who maintain foreign bank accounts and assets overseas,” said Moshe Asher, head of the Israel Tax Authority.
“At this time I call on all Israelis who have undeclared capital in Israel and abroad and have not yet submitted a request, to submit a request for voluntary disclosure,” he said.
In February 2015, a huge cache of leaked files showed that the Swiss division of the HSBC bank helped clients in more than 200 countries evade taxes on accounts containing $119 billion.
Israel was ranked sixth on a list of countries with the most money in the hidden Swiss accounts, with an estimated $10 billion overall. That included accounts owned by people who were born or reside in Israel, or hold an Israeli passport.
About two years ago the Authority managed to obtain a list of Israelis who held UBS bank accounts, and as a result 32 people were arrested.
The Authority has recently announced that it would extend its amnesty — launched in September 2014 — for those voluntarily reporting overseas holdings. So far 5,360 individuals have submitted disclosure requests, with a combined worth of NIS 18.6 billion ($4.8 billion).
About a month ago the Knesset passed legislation designating serious tax violations as predicate offenses under the Prohibition of Money Laundering Law.
