So I don't understand this thing in the news recently about the swiss bank account LGT bank?

Question

It says that the owner of the bank, could be charged with conspiring top help evade u.s. tax which is a felony, but he doesn't live here? So what can our government/IRS do ?

When this has been going on for probably 100 years or more, why did the IRS just now decide to do something about this?

What is illegal about using a swiss bank account if you are a U.S. citizen?

Can the U.S. declare war over this?

Answer 1

1) because we could use the money and they have been cutting corners long enough

2) This was in Liechenstein - a country - not Switzerland. The guy who runs the country owns the bank, I'm sure we knew about them as a country, but we may have just caught up to the tax evasion scheme.

3) There is nothing illegal about having a Swiss bank account as long as you declare it on your tax returns and have paid your taxes on the right assets.

4) I don't think war would yield us what we want. We could take over the bank or the country in a hot minute, but that wouldn't serve our purposes either.