By Nanette Byrnes and Lynnley Browning

(Reuters) – Companies often incorporate in the Cayman Islands for tax reasons. But in the case of Manchester United, the English soccer team seeking an initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange, the advantage accrues to its controlling family, the Glazers, at the expense of new public investors.

As part of its IPO, the legendary sports franchise will use a new Cayman Islands company to sell shares, even though the club’s operations are in Britain.

July 12 (Reuters) – Companies often incorporate in the
Cayman Islands for tax reasons. But in the case of Manchester
United, the English soccer team seeking an initial public
offering on the New York Stock Exchange, the advantage accrues
to its controlling family, the Glazers, at the expense of new
public investors.

As part of its IPO, the legendary sports franchise will use
a new Cayman Islands company to sell shares, even though the
club’s operations are in Britain.

July 9 (Reuters) – Denise Rich, the wealthy socialite and
former wife of pardoned billionaire trader Marc Rich, has given
up her U.S. citizenship – and, with it, much of her U.S. tax
bill.

Rich, 68, a Grammy-nominated songwriter and glossy figure in
Democratic and European royalty circles, renounced her American
passport in November, according to her lawyer.

By Lynnley Browning

(Reuters) – Many Americans living abroad will get a small reprieve from U.S. Internal Revenue Service rules on reporting foreign assets, the agency announced on Tuesday.

The IRS said it would allow some U.S. citizens, including dual citizens, who have not filed income tax returns or not disclosed their foreign bank accounts, to come forward without facing onerous penalties or the threat of prosecution.

By Lynnley Browning

(Reuters) – The Internal Revenue Service lost two major cases in U.S. Tax Court in recent years dealing with transfer pricing, or how companies value asset transfers and related transactions between subsidiaries that cross international borders.

This field is one of the most contentious in the tax world, with the IRS often struggling to keep up with fast-moving corporations that legally manage transfer pricing to reduce their overall tax rates, but sometimes cross the line.

By Lynnley Browning

(Reuters) – The U.S. prosecutor most responsible for piercing the veil of Swiss bank secrecy has resigned, but tax experts said his exit was unlikely to slow Justice Department efforts to rein in American offshore tax evasion there.

Kevin Downing, 46, who for several years has led the department’s criminal probe of the Swiss banking industry, will leave effective June 4 to become a partner at a major law firm, a source familiar with the matter said on Thursday.

By Lynnley Browning

(Reuters) – A top prosecutor responsible for a crackdown on Swiss banks and sellers of corporate tax shelters has resigned from the Justice Department, a source familiar with the matter said on Thursday.

Kevin Downing, 46, who has led agency criminal probes of the Swiss banking industry, and earlier of banks and accounting firms, is leaving to join a law firm, the source said.

May 31 (Reuters) – A top U.S. prosecutor responsible for a
crackdown on Swiss banks and sellers of corporate tax shelters
has resigned from the Justice Department, a source familiar with
the matter said on Thursday.

Kevin Downing, 46, who has led agency criminal probes of the
Swiss banking industry, and earlier of banks and accounting
firms, is leaving to join a law firm, the source said.