On January 9, the Internal Revenue Service ("IRS")
reopened its Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program
("OVDP") for U.S. taxpayers holding undisclosed foreign
bank accounts. The OVDP permits eligible taxpayers with secret
foreign bank accounts, and unreported income associated with those
accounts, to obtain amnesty from criminal prosecution in return for
the payment of back taxes, interest, and penalties.
Two previous IRS programs for taxpayers with foreign bank
accounts, which ran in 2009 and 2011, brought in more than $4.4
billion in taxes from tens of thousands of U.S. taxpayers,
according to the IRS. "Our focus on offshore tax evasion
continues to produce strong, substantial results for the
nation's taxpayers," said IRS Commissioner Doug
Shulman in a statement. "We have billions of dollars in hand
from our previous efforts, and we have more people wanting to come
in and get right with the government. This new program makes good
sense for taxpayers still hiding
