At first glance, it might not be obvious why average Americans should care about a dispute involving the United States and Switzerland. But the case involves secret Swiss bank accounts used by wealthy Americans to evade taxes in the United States. And for every dollar of taxes avoided by a rich American hiding assets in offshore accounts, it means a dollar of additional taxes for honest taxpayers in the U.S.

Not enough importance is being paid to the issue of uncollected taxes and the estimated $345 billion a year in taxes due that never are collected by the Internal Revenue Service. Many observers are suggesting that President Barack Obama's ambitious plans for health care, education and the massive federal deficit caused, in part, by $1 trillion in so-called stimulus spending will eventually mean higher taxes for Americans. But taxes should not be raised on honest Americans while thousands of their fellow citizens hide fortunes in offshore bank accounts, participate in tax-avoidance schemes and under-report income or simply fail to report income.

The IRS, with the support of the U.S. Justice Department, filed suit in February against UBS, a large private bank based in Switzerland, to force the disclosure of the names of 52,000 wealthy Americans with accounts at UBS. The IRS asserts that these accounts are intended to hide assets from the U.S. government and thus avoid or reduce taxes illegally.

But Switzerland is famous for its secretive banking culture and its banks have become a major Swiss industry. As a result, both UBS and the Swiss government have refused to release the names of the wealthy Americans with Swiss bank accounts.

Hearings on the lawsuit were scheduled to begin last week, but at the last minute a federal judge agreed to delay the proceedings until August, in the hopes that an agreement can be reached.

The IRS believes that the UBS accounts hold more than $15 billion in assets, which, by being beyond the reach of U.S. officials, cost the Treasury hundreds of millions of dollars a year in lost taxes.

The IRS charges are based on the fact that UBS already has admitted that it conspired to help wealthy Americans evade taxes. The giant global bank has agreed to disclose the names of just 300 American clients and pay a $780 million penalty.

The U.S. government should pursue the UBS accounts and all other offshore bank accounts that allow wealthy Americans to hide assets and cheat on their taxes. The aggressive action by the IRS and other U.S. agencies might already be having an effect. A recent Associated Press article reported that hundreds of Americans have decided to participate in an IRS voluntary disclosure program that allows them to pay back taxes and penalties, but to avoid prosecution.

Tax cheats, whether they accomplish their crimes in the U.S. or overseas, should not be shielded from inquiries by federal authorities. Americans should remember that every dollar of taxes not paid by a tax cheat — wealthy or otherwise — is a dollar paid by honest taxpayers.

Aggressive pursuit of all tax cheats should be a priority of the Obama administration. Everyone should be paying their fair share before any talk of new or higher taxes is considered as necessary to pay for exploding federal budget deficits or expanded health care.

— J.L.W.III