Sen. Levin: Shut Down Giant Swiss Bank UBS

[sabra]

Source: ABC News


Investigation Reveals Secrecy Tricks Allegedly Used by Swiss Bankers

Federal regulators should consider revoking the US banking license of the giant Swiss Bank UBS because of its role in helping wealthy Americans evade billions of dollars in taxes, Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI) told ABC News today.

"I don't think that any bank that goes to the extent that UBS has gone through to avoid doing what their agreements with the United States require them to do, should be allowed to continue to do business unless they clean up their act," Levin said.

UBS's role in arranging "undeclared" accounts for an estimated 19,000 US citizens was one focus of a hearing by the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, chaired by Levin today. The role of the LGT bank, owned by the royal family of Liechtenstein, was also investigated.

Levin said UBS practices resulted in its U.S. clients maintaining undeclared Swiss accounts that collectively held "$18 billion dollars in assets that have been kept secret from the the IRS."

Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/story?id=5394214&page=1

[WriteDown]

1. Interesting...

The Swiss sure do love hiding money.

[mediaman007]

2. McCain advisor Phil Gramm will probably get a little testy at that

suggestion. Isn't he a UBS director?

Which brings to mind Gramm. Not only did he engineer the housing crisis, but he has offered a tax shelter to Americans who already got a big tax cut from the Republicans. How any middle income Americans can think that the Republicans share their interests is beyond me. Republicans are for protecting the rich and limiting the new members to the rich group.

[calimary]

10. Hey! Stop all that whining! You whiner!

[elehhhhna]

16. It was only mental/psychological tax-avoidance.

[DCKit]

11. "Not only did he engineer the housing crisis..."

and don't forget Enron. He owns that 100%.

[Lasher]

15. Gramm is a UBS VP.

He was also a lobbyist for them until it was learned he had been getting paid for that while serving as the McCain campaign's chief economic advisor.

[Baby Snooks]

18. He is still a lobbyist...

He just isn't being paid for it. Not a crime, as Kay Bailey Hutchison would put it, just a technicality. Democrats commit crimes. Republicans commit technicalities.

[whistle]

3. Not before all the hidden U.S. tax dodger accounts are seized

[liberal N proud]

4. Like that will ever happen

The ones who are responsible for preventing this from happening probably are knee deep in it themselves.
Like the fox watching the hen house

[whistle]

5. Then it will be paper shredding and computer file erasing time I guess

[KSinTX]

12. Fueled by lots of yummy Cindy Beer

nt

[closeupready]

14. Maybe they'll hire Ollie North as a consultant?

:rofl:

[Dr.Phool]

8. I wonder if Levin and Shoomer are afraid their names might pop out.

This shit has been ignored for a couple of years now, and they just now get a clue?

[Trillo]

6. This seems a rather important story.

Maybe we'll learn more.

[WhiteTara]

7. and arrest Phil Gramm

and let's see what a whiner he is.

[Lasher]

13. !!!

[redqueen]

9. But the Cayman Islands stuff is still legit?

Pfft.

[elehhhhna]

17. & Bahamas, Isle of Man, Guernsey...

actually Switzerland isn't the taxhaven it used to be.

Most of the "good" ones are British protectorates, btw.

[Texano78704]

19. Don't forget

Panama, even if Noriega is gone.

[Initech]

20. Do it! Make them pay.

[fasttense]

21. I see another amnesty coming out of Congress.

It's now time to whip up legislation to give all those tax cheats amnesty from their illegal actions.

:sarcasm: