Swiss party wants to punish U.S. for UBS probe

[MannyGoldstein]

Source: Reuters

ZURICH, Feb 21 (Reuters) - The right-wing Swiss People's Party (SVP) called on Saturday for retaliation against the United States over a U.S. tax probe into the country's biggest bank UBS that threatens prized banking secrecy.

The populist SVP, the country's biggest party, said Switzerland should not take in any detainees from the U.S. prison for terrorism suspects at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, which the Swiss government said last month it could consider to help shut the camp down.

....

The SVP said gold stored by the Swiss National Bank in the United States should be repatriated and Switzerland should ban the sale of U.S. funds in the country to protect Swiss investors after the failure of U.S. regulators.

The SVP has one minister in the seven-member Swiss government which is made up of the biggest four parties, but its populist policies have shaken up usually consensual Swiss politics.

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssFinancialServicesAndRealEstateNews/idUSTHO15017420090221

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They should be renamed "The Tax Cheat Party". They really believe that helping The Rich to evade paying their share (which is already half of what the Middle class pays!) is their God-given right.

[Andy823]

1. Looks like the

The right wing of politics all over the world are a bunch of idiots that only care about "MONEY" and nothing else!

[DJ13]

2. Who says were going to ask to put some of them in Switzerland?

Maybe we should just take some of the worst of them to your border and release them there.........

[scytherius]

11. There were some reports a few weeks ago that they might take some. n/t

nt

[sudopod]

3. Are they the same people who

were making the racist black sheep/white sheep campaign posters?

If so, I LOL heartily at their impotence. USA USA USA. :P

[Barcelona]

15. Yep

On 1 August 2007, the SVP launched a direct mail, print and outdoor advertising campaign at a national level to gather signatures supporting the "Federal Popular Initiative for the Deportation of Criminal Foreigners". An illustration was used in which three white sheep roaming on a Swiss-flag delimited area kick out a black sheep. The caption reads: "to create security". In Geneva, the city council banned the outdoor campaign, and most of the outdoor posters already placed were destroyed. Thousands of the direct mail brochures with prepaid return postage were sent back without a signature to cause increased expenses to the campaign organizers.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swiss_People%27s_Party#Ideology

Really nice people, indeed. :sarcasm:

[natrat]

4. what a shit country-it prides it s self on hiding stolen money

[blackbart99]

13. Please...

They specialize in hiding assholes money. Who do you think helped the Nazi's?
That's why the war never touched them. Neutral my ASS!!!
:puke:

[47of74]

5. Tell 'em to get bent

[HillbillyBob]

6. Um perhaps it is time to really pump them about the stolen nazi

booty stolen from all over Europe and stored in Swiss bank vaults.
Some of that was transhipped to South America after the war to escaped nazis with the help of CIA or rather OSS. That little bit of info has been a prized secret (and no it ain't tinfoil hat stuff either, look in the Library of Congress, unless ( * ) had those 'classified' or removed too along with other things implicating his crime family.

[defendandprotect]

7. We should be celebrating that these secret accounts may soon be over!

[Captain Hilts]

8. If they're looking for 'sympathy' they'll find it between 'shit' and 'syphllis' in the dictionary. n

[Sailing]

9. The Swiss bank has its origins in the Knights Templar

When Europe turned against the Knights Templar in 1307 for attaining to much power with their questionable banking system, a few managed to escape arrest and fled to Switzerland, a backward agrarian society at the time. Switzerland changed not too long after they arrived and are believed to have established the foundation for the Swiss banking system in later centuries.

It's no surprise to me that the Swiss act this way, as it is founded in the mentality of the Knights Templar.

[ShockediSay]

10. Why should we let their bank {UBS} help screw our people out

of a fair share of our US monies?

Boot the fuckers out of the country and let them take their conspiracies elsewhere.

[Baby Snooks]

12. The easier solution...

The easier solution would be to ban "offshore corporate accounts" set up by Americans and by American corporations which enable Americans and American corporations to divert income to evade taxes. As 52,000 Americans and unknown numbers of American corporations have. Or so we're being told. Although of course it's really just being implied.

The easier solution would be to prosecute those American employees of UBS who promoted tax evasion including Phil Gramm and that won't happen for the same reason we will never know who the 250 already named let alone who the 52,000 are if they are named which most likely they won't be simply becasue the Swiss government knows not all evaded taxes. Some just simply wanted the security of a stable economic system.

We may see some indictments. Of "political enemeies" of the Bushes. And then we will be told the rest are simply civil matters with civil settlements. Keep in mind the UBS investigation began during the Bush Administration and anyone who believes the Bush Administration did so out of concern for the rule of law is a fool.

If nothing else they did so on the basis that they believe their rule of law should apply as it did in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Imagine what would happen if the Swiss government allows the intrusion of the US goverment into their banking system. People will seek other safe havens. Like Antigua and its banking system. Which apparently isn't such a safe haven since $8 billion is not there.

Maybe Allen Stanford transferred it to his Swiss bank account. Which probably is not on the "whose account is this" list the Bush Administration probably gave to UBS. Already knowing but wanting UBS to disclose it anyway in order to force the hand of the Swiss goverment.

No doubt the list was given to the Bush Administration by Phil Gramm.

It would be nice if people would finally connect the dots. Most cannot even see the dots.

?

Even when the dots are right there for all to see most still cannot see them.

[DetlefK]

14. @all: read the text more carefully: it says "populist party"

That means, they will say whatever might please the voters.

And further:
quote: "...its populist policies have shaken up usually consensual Swiss politics."
Nationalists lashing out at big bad foreign banks. How surprising.

[Mr. Hyde]

16. Switzerland agreed to disclose the identities of criminals using their banks back in 2003.

That included, first and foremost, tax fraud.

[Odin2005]

17. Switzerland is a very conservative and xenophobic country.

Swiss women couldn't vote until the 70s. People have this illusion that Switzerland is a progressive place simply because of it's political system, not the case.

[corpseratemedia]

18. The Swiss and the Germans helped to rid

my state of manufacturing and textile jobs. In particular, the Swiss here act like arrogant cultural overlords.

Frankly, a bright light needs to be shined on their banking practices.

[ShockediSay]

19. "the Swiss here act like"

can I ask where is here?

the nation?

your state?

[mbperrin]

20. Yep, go ahead and try to retrieve that gold.

Or else what? You'll not sell us any more Swiss cheese? No more Ricola?