Liechtenstein wealth manager opens its doors to offshore US money
Liechtenstein-based wealth manager Kaiser Ritter Partners is to offer accounts for US offshore assets that will be tax compliant with the Internal Revenue Service.
The move comes after a crackdown on US offshore accounts in Switzerland that led many Swiss and Liechtenstein-based wealth managers reluctant to open offshore accounts from US citizens.
Kaiser Ritter Partners will offer a service to ensure accounts become tax compliant. The initiative has the backing of the Internal Revenue Service and the wealth manager will use an agreement and a dedicated contact desk at the IRS to process voluntary disclosures of untaxed assets.
An application has also been made by the wealth manager to the States Securities and Exchange Commission for an "Investment Advisor" permit. US law stipulates that clients resident in the US can only be served from Switzerland if the Swiss company has an SEC permit.
Fritz Kaiser, executive chairman of Kaiser Ritter Partner Group, said: "The financial services sector in Switzerland and Liechtenstein stands on the brink of a new era. We want to maintain a strong banking confidentiality regime to protect people's privacy, but we must be quick to offer internationally tax-compliant services.”
Last month the IRS said that it was extending its probe of offshore private banking beyond UBS and plans to take action against other offshore banks in an effort to force them to name US citizens with hidden foreign bank accounts.
Earlier this year, UBS was forced to hand over offshore account information of around 300 US citizens to the IRS.
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