Leave Swiss Banks Alone - NYT op-ed

[groovedaddy]

LAST week, an American client of the Swiss bank UBS admitted to filing a false tax return and concealing millions in Swiss bank accounts. For some people, his plea will just confirm their impression of Switzerland as a haven for criminals or dictators who want to protect their funds from taxes or oversight.

But for us here in Switzerland, our financial privacy laws are a foundation for individual dignity and basic property rights.

Unfortunately, the confidentiality that is the hallmark of Swiss banking is coming under increasing pressure. The global economic crisis has led some governments to intensify efforts to seek tax revenue abroad — and Switzerland, which accounts for nearly 30 percent of all offshore private wealth, is a natural target.

Earlier this year, Switzerland was put on a “gray list” by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and threatened with financial sanctions, leading the government to provisionally renegotiate tax agreements with a dozen countries so far. Most of those agreements would require Switzerland to hand over individuals’ financial information for tax purposes in accordance with the organization’s standards.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/03/opinion/03bessard.html?th&emc=th

[katandmoon]

1. Awwwwwwwwwwwwww............

:nopity: :nopity: :nopity: :nopity: :nopity: :nopity: :nopity: :nopity: :nopity:

[Democrats_win]

2. FU Swiss Banksters and NYtimes! Pay your f**king taxes!

[valerief]

3. Leave our gazillions alone. Signed, Really, Really, Really Rich People. nt

[formercia]

4. Boo fucking Hoo!

:scared:

[groovedaddy]

5. They can't be hiding anything can they? I mean, these are all totally honest, above board people

who wouldn't do anything to keep from paying their legal obligations, right?