The IRS along with the DOJ has been aggressively pursuing offshore account holders to disclose their overseas bank accounts before it's too late.  There are significant penalties for holding accounts in certain foreign banks.  However, in an effort to encourage account holders to disclose their accounts, the IRS started the Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program (OVDP)  and the streamlined procedures enable taxpayer to meet their tax obligations while limiting the potential penalties for continued non-compliance.

If you withdraw money from your individual retirement account before age 59 1/2, you will generally have to pay a 10 percent early withdrawal penalty in addition to income tax on the amount withdrawn. This means a $5,000 withdrawal taken by a mid-career worker in the 25 percent tax bracket would result in $1,750 in taxes and penalties. But there are a variety of ways to avoid the IRA early withdrawal penalty if you meet specific criteria:

The trust fund recovery penalty allows the IRS to collect the unpaid withholding taxes from the assets of the owners and operators of businesses. It penalizes those who had control over the decision to divert the payroll money from the IRS to other creditors of the business. The trust fund recovery penalty is equal to the income taxes, social security taxes, and Medicare taxes withheld from employee paychecks.