from Financial Regulatory Forum:

U.S. asks court for more time to reach tax deal with UBS

MIAMI, Aug 7 (Reuters) - The U.S. government, citing difficulties in talks to hammer out a final settlement of its tax-evasion dispute Swiss bank UBS AG, asked a U.S. judge on Friday to delay a trial in the case set to begin on Monday.

"The parties are still talking," Stuart Gibson, an attorney for the U.S. Justice Department's tax division, before a court session on Friday at which the United States asked for the delay.

The two sides had been widely expected to announce a final settlement. Washington is seeking the names of thousands of wealthy American clients of UBS suspected of using offshore accounts at the bank to conceal assets and evade U.S. taxes.

Gibson told U.S. judge Alan Gold in a teleconference last Friday that the two sides had reached an "agreement in principle" and hoped to resolve remaining issues in the coming week.

from Financial Regulatory Forum:

U.S. and UBS reach breakthrough deal in tax dispute

MIAMI, July 31 (Reuters) - The United States and Swiss bank UBS AG have struck a deal to settle their dispute over tax evasion and bank secrecy, backing off from an escalating standoff that had threatened to damage ties between the two countries. The announcement of an agreement in principle headed off a showdown over U.S. demands that Switzerland's best-known bank reveal the names of thousands of wealthy Americans suspected of using UBS to evade taxes. The Swiss government had fiercely resisted what it portrayed as an assault on its sovereign bank secrecy laws.

A U.S. Justice Department attorney said a final settlement was expected within a week, raising hopes for an end to a dispute which was being closely watched by the world's multibillion-dollar offshore banking industry.

"I'm reporting to the court that the parties have reached an agreement in principle on the major issues," U.S. Justice Department attorney Stuart Gibson said in a conference call with Florida federal court Judge Alan Gold.

"There are some other issues that need to get resolved, and we expect to be able to resolve them during the coming week," Gibson added.

from Financial Regulatory Forum:

No deal yet in UBS tax case, trial to proceed, U.S. says

MIAMI, July 29 (Reuters) - The United States said on Wednesday no deal had been reached so far in talks with Swiss authorities to settle a tax evasion dispute and it expected a trial against Swiss bank UBS AG to go vahead as scheduled on Monday.

"The parties, and that is primarily the Swiss government and the United States government, have been discussing settlement but no agreement has been reached," said Stuart Gibson, an attorney for the U.S. Justice Department's tax division.

"The government plans to continue talking but the United States' position is that the court should proceed to hold the hearing next week," he said in a status conference call with the Florida federal court judge presiding over the case.

from Financial Regulatory Forum:

UBS client case implicates Swiss bankers, official

By Tom Brown MIAMI, July 28 (Reuters) - An American client of UBS AG pleaded guilty on Tuesday to using Swiss bank accounts to hide more than $8 million from U.S. tax authorities and said a Swiss government official received $45,000 to help cover up the fraud.

The Swiss accounts that Jeffrey Chernick, a New York resident, admitted using for tax fraud included one at UBS, according to documents made public as he entered his guilty plea in federal court in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

UBS is at the center of a high-profile dispute with the United States focusing on alleged abuse of Swiss bank secrecy laws by wealthy Americans seeking to cheat U.S. tax authorities.

from Financial Regulatory Forum:

Swiss, U.S. seen needing time to finish UBS tax deal

ZURICH, July 24 (Reuters) - Talks between Switzerland and the United States to end a tax row targeting UBS could stretch beyond an Aug. 3 deadline to allow more time for a detailed settlement, a source familiar with the situation said on Friday.

U.S. tax authorities are seeking to force Swiss wealth management giant UBS to disclose the identity of an estimated 52,000 U.S. holders of secret Swiss accounts suspected of dodging taxes even though this breaches Swiss bank secrecy laws.

A trial against UBS was scheduled to start in Miami on July 13 but presiding judge Alan Gold agreed to delay it until Aug. 3 to allow time for a settlement.

A status call between Gold and lawyers from UBS and the U.S. Internal Revenue Service on July 29 could be an opportunity for an announcement of a delay. A meeting between Swiss Finance Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is also scheduled on July 31.