At least 7,500 seek tax amnesty on offshore accounts: US

At least 7,500 Americans with undisclosed offshore bank accounts have come forward to settle back taxes in response to an amnesty program expiring Thursday, US officials said.

Internal Revenue Service spokesman Bruce Friedland said it was too soon to know the total number who would ask for amnesty under the program but confirmed that it would be a minimum of 7,500.

US Senator Carl Levin, head of a panel that has investigated tax havens, said in a statement Wednesday that the preliminary results from the voluntary disclosure program was positive.

"The fact that more than 7,500 US taxpayers took advantage of the IRS voluntary disclosure program to disclose hidden foreign accounts at more than 100 banks in 70 countries suggests that our efforts to end tax haven abuses may be making progress," Levin said.

"Some evidence of that progress is that many Americans are losing confidence in the ability of tax haven banks to hide their assets. But it is also clear that thousands of other taxpayers are still in the shadows, working to keep their offshore accounts hidden."

He said Congress should enact legislation to further crack down on offshore tax abuse and collect a estimated 100 billion dollars in unpaid taxes each year.

The IRS has said that persons who do not voluntarily come forward before the new deadline may face much harsher civil penalties, including criminal prosecution.

A wave of prosecutions is expected following a disclosure agreement with Swiss bank UBS.

US authorities are moving to crack down on overseas accounts for tax evasion, as highlighted by the settlement with UBS in August to reveal the identities of some 4,450 of its American clients.

The landmark settlement challenged Switzerland's longstanding banking secrecy tradition and was expected to open the door to more prosecution efforts for tax evasion.