MAYBE PRES. OBAMA ISN'T BEING OVERLY OPTIMISTIC

You might recall that the U.S. is going after tax cheats who were UBS clients and apparently the major nations have finally decided to clamp down on off-shore tax havens. The total amount hidden is in the trillions and the U.S. alone may get another $100 billion a year in tax revenue. Over 10 years, that adds up to $1 trillion and that much will make a nice decent in our budget deficits.

Tax havens eye uncertain future after concessions
Mar 29 04:50 AM US/Eastern
By FRANK JORDANS
Associated Press Writer

A study by the Boston Consulting Group estimated that $7.3 trillion is stashed in offshore banking centers by people either taking advantage of low taxes or simply evading notice of tax authorities back home. Curbing havens is one of the issues facing the Group of 20 summit on the world economic crisis, which gathers rich and leading developing countries in London on April 2.

The pressure rose with the election of President Barack Obama, who as a U.S. senator co-sponsored legislation with Senator Carl Levin, a Michigan Democrat whose bill is designed to crack down on havens estimated to cost the United States $100 billion annually in lost revenue. The bill, still in Senate committee, proposes money-laundering sanctions against countries that impede U.S. tax investigations, as well as heavy fines for those who use or promote illegal tax havens.