By Ellen Zimiles, Richard Kando, Alex Shea, and Rachel Sazanowicz

In 2016, there was a clear upward trend in the fight against tax evasion globally. The April 2016 release of the Panama Papers caused an international shake-up that resulted in multiple global tax evasion investigations, regulatory reviews, and information sharing among tax authorities from around the world. Access and insight into the once hidden world of undisclosed offshore accounts is at unprecedented levels. With government cooperation on the rise and leading to even greater transparency, individual taxpayers and financial institutions should be prepared for tax compliance to be increasingly integrated into everyday business. Financial institutions should have a strong compliance program to address and mitigate the risk of their institutions and services being used for tax evasion purposes.