For years it has been assumed that if you are rich enough in America, you can cheat your taxes. Just take a trip to the Alps and stash some cash in a secret Swiss account while you're at it. So now that Senator Carl Levin is making some headway against tax cheats-- they are finding themselves in the unusual position of being called out on their offenses.
Switzerland's largest bank, UBS, has long been a generous donor to American lawmakers. Last year alone, the bank spread over three million dollars across hundreds of U.S. election campaigns. That kind of money wins lots of friends on Capitol Hill, but with the economy now in a tailspin, the money banks like UBS squirrel away in tax havens is getting unprecedented attention and the once cozy relationship between UBS and U.S. politicians has soured. When a top UBS executive was hauled in front of a Senate subcommittee recently to explain his company's actions, remarkably few lawmakers showed up to grill - or defend - their erstwhile friend.