One way of dealing with record budget deficits, besides raising taxes, is to actually collect taxes.

The IRS is opening new offices in Beijing, Panama City and Sydney, to focus on funds flowing out of Europe and into Asia, in part because of a heightened focus on international enforcement in Europe, Shulman said.

The IRS has already gone after the biggest Swiss bank in court, and succeeded in getting lots of names:

The U.S. government has already opened cases against about 150 clients of UBS AG, names it obtained when the Swiss bank paid $780 million to settle a criminal suit in February after admitting it helped Americans skirt the law.

Seems they were just getting started:

"The IRS has new momentum in this entire area and in the coming months our efforts will only intensify," IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman said on Wednesday.

Are they really serious about this? Well, just ask the rich:

"The IRS has done a very good job of scaring the hell out of everybody," said Ken Rubinstein, a lawyer with his own firm who counsel clients in tax matters. He said he expects more prosecutions to keep the heat on offshore bank customers.

And wealth advisors are "upset", according to the Wall Street Journal (via Raw Story).

The surest way of knowing whether this is actually a serious effort? Rich cheaters are scared and upset. Works for me.