US Court Rules That Man Must Pay $2.2 Million Penalty Over Swiss Account Failing

Tom Burroughes

29 May 2014

A US federal court jury has decided that an individual in Florida, Carl Zwerner, must pay over $2.2 million in civil penalties for failing to file required forms for his Swiss bank account, Reuters reports.

The jury found Zwerner liable for failing to report the account to the US Treasury Department from 2004 to 2006, though it found that he does not owe a penalty for 2007, court filings show, the report said.

US tax rules regulations require all American taxpayers with at least $10,000 in a foreign bank account to file a Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts, known as a FBAR, the report pointed out.

The US Justice Department, which has brought the case against the man, tried to penalise him for 50 per cent of the value of the account of the four years that he allegedly did not file the reports. His account, held with ABN AMRO, was worth more than $1.5 million, the report said, citing court documents.

The news service said that Zwerner’s lawyer did not respond to requests for comment.