At the close of business today, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) stopped accepting applications to its amnesty program from citizens hiding assets overseas. In the wake of UBS's acquiescence to U.S. demands earlier this year to out American clients hiding riches in the Swiss bank, a record number of taxpayers came forward to take advantage of the program. In light of these disclosures, some in Congress are advocating for more forceful tax legislation to help the IRS continue to root out overseas tax shelters.

According to Howard Gleckman over at TaxVox, the blog of the Urban and Brookings Joint Tax Policy Center, due to a shortsighted revenue generator Congress put in place several years ago, wealthy individuals will soon be able to convert taxable investments into tax-free nest eggs, and deny the government needed revenues down the road. It's a perfect example of the unintended consequences of public policy and one of those things that make you either want to scratch your head or beat it against the wall, or both.

The IRS is expanding its National Research Program to investigate tax compliance related to employment taxes, according to a report ($) in Bureau of National Affairs this morning. The National Research Program is an intensive study and data collection project that helps the IRS to properly screen and target non-compliant tax returns for auditing.

The New York Times is reporting that as part of the recent information exchange agreement between the U.S. and Switzerland, UBS will ultimately hand over the names and account details of close to 5,000 wealthy American citizens suspected of tax avoidance. According to the Times, Switzerland has 370 days to examine the accounts of some 4,450 clients before turning the information over to the IRS and DOJ. Moreover, the agreement allows the Swiss government to work with other Swiss financial institutions to disclose the identities of other Americans suspected of hiding money offshore.