Swiss Go To War!

[Mega]

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/6e8d95d2-6411-11...144feabdc0.html

Mike

[godless]

Would be funny if it wasn't so sad

[crash2006]

“We understand that we are in an economic war and we have our own weapons,†he added

.

An economic war has broken out between Switzerland and the rest of the world after the crackdown on Swiss banking secrecy, according to one of Geneva’s leading private bankers.

Yves Mirabaud, a managing partner at Swiss private bank Mirabaud, told the Financial Times that nothing was easier than dodging tax in the US and UK.

<H3 class=section>EDITOR’S CHOICE</H3>

UBS, the world’s largest wealth manager, which is involved in a legal fight with US authorities over alleged assistance in tax evasion.

Mr Mirabaud said that UBS had “behaved poorly†and had not “helped the Swiss financial centreâ€. He added that discussions on bank secrecy had “cost us all a lotâ€.

But Mr Mirabaud said the crackdown on bank secrecy had yet to lead to an impact on business, although it could do so in the future as it was unclear how much transparency there would be. “There is a certain uncertainty for our clients,†he said. “They have been asking questions and we don’t have all the answers. But business is good.â€

Swiss private banks and politicians are adamant that “fishing expeditions†from foreign countries to find out customers’ names – known as the automatic exchange of information – will not be allowed.

But it is unclear where the line will be drawn on how much evidence of possible tax evasion will be needed for disclosure of customer details to be enforced.

“Privacy is very important for us in Switzerland. Automatic exchange of information is the negation of all this. In this case, we have some common interests with countries like the UK,†Mr Mirabaud said, alluding to offshore centres such as the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands.

Mr Mirabaud said that the past few months had been “an unpleasant time†but that factors such as the quality of staff and the political stability of Switzerland meant the country was still an attractive destination for potential private bank customers.

“We understand that we are in an economic war and we have our own weapons,†he added.

[three pint princess]

Who even banks with the Swiss anymore ?,

They gave up all the accounts just last year and rolled over for anyone with a diplomat.

BELLINZONA, Switzerland December 1, 2008 (AP)

Switzerland can hand over bank documents to British authorities investigating whether arms manufacturer BAE Systems PLC bribed Czech politicians to gain a lucrative contract for the sale of fighter jets, the Federal Criminal Court said Monday.

BAE, Europe's largest defense contractor, is the subject of corruption investigations in several countries, including whether it paid Czech officials to support the purchase of Swedish Gripen fighter jets.

Britain's Serious Fraud Office requested help from Switzerland to trace the flow of about euro1 million ($1.3 million) sent to Swiss bank accounts via the British Virgin Islands and Panama, the court said.

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory?id=6366876

From Times Online <script type="text/javascript"> October 1, 2008 Switzerland's role as the world's private banker is under renewed attack as the Swiss authorities prepare to hand over confidential data on wealthy American clients of UBS to the US Department of Justice.

Some data, which relate to a US investigation into offshore services provided by UBS advisers to US clients between 2000 and 2007, have already been handed to US officials by UBS, according to a report in The New York Times

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/busi...icle4859269.ece

Published Date: 01 March 2008 By LINDSAY MCINTOSH

But while most Britons will not have set foot within its boundaries �" indeed, some will probably not know it lies between Austria and Switzerland �" many do have significant investments hidden in secret accounts within the tax haven.

Secret, that was, until last week, when HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) bought a list of about 100 investors with one of Liechtenstein's leading banks.

There will now be a group of individuals across Britain concerned about how the information is to be used and what the consequences will be.

The deal, reportedly worth £100,000, was made with Heinrich Kieber, who stole the details from LGT bank and proceeded, to all intents and purposes, to hawk them around governments.

http://news.scotsman.com/latestnews/Paying...rice.3833058.jp

You would have to Madoff investor stupid or greedy to keep an account open with such a leaky boat.

Edited June 29, 2009 by Tom Peters

[Guest sillybear2]

If this is war then who ends up with all the nazi gold?

[tomwatkins]

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/6e8d95d2-6411-11...144feabdc0.html

Mike

Anybody else wonder why there was ever a Swiss Army Knife?

[tomwatkins]

If this is war then who ends up with all the nazi gold?

Dunno but somebody in South America would be my guess.

[right_freds_dead]

seems like sometimes im the only one not avoiding tax here. large companies, my local MP. all at it.

yet i receive nothing in benefits. not even a dentist.

[aa3]

Without secrecy imo Swiss banks are just high cost versions of western banks. It doesn't seem like a viable business model.

[bogbrush]

From what I've seen they should all take up tennis.

['Bart']

and we have our own weapons

Yep. One one move and we'll burn all yer money!

Anybody else wonder why there was ever a Swiss Army Knife?

The Swiss had their moments

the Pike Square (German: Gewalthaufen, meaning crowd of force) was a military tactic developed by the Swiss Confederacy during the 15th century for use by its infantry.

It was used to devastating effect at the Battle of Nancy against Charles the Bold of Burgundy in 1477, when the Swiss defeated a smaller but more powerful armored cavalry force. The battle is generally seen as one of the turning points that established the infantry as the primary fighting arm in European warfare from the 16th century onwards.

The Battle of Nancy marked the beginning of the end for heavily armoured knights on the battlefield.

[Guest sillybear2]

Anybody else wonder why there was ever a Swiss Army Knife?

It's obviously very useful for breaking into safes... to steal gold.

[indirectapproach]

"The Battle of Nancy marked the beginning of the end for heavily armoured knights on the battlefield."

Nah, Crecy 1346.

Or perhaps even Bannockburn 1314 because it was fighting against the Scots that the English realised the way forward was on foot.

[leicestersq]

Without secrecy imo Swiss banks are just high cost versions of western banks. It doesn't seem like a viable business model.

The whole Swiss economy is based on handling the money of criminals. It is a profitable and reliable business too, which is why they want to keep it.

Now they are in a bit of a hole though over UBS, so when backed up, they have gone on the offensive and attacked the US and the UK.

Without their criminal enterprises, the Swiss economy will become much less wealthy. The rest of the world will gain from the reduced criminality.

You can always tell when something rotten is going on. When things are kept secret, or 'privacy' is used as a reason for not letting people know something, then it is always to hide criminality.

I personally think that they ought to send in the tanks. The real taxpayer could have a holiday with the spoils.

[Guest sillybear2]

You can always tell when something rotten is going on. When things are kept secret, or 'privacy' is used as a reason for not letting people know something, then it is always to hide criminality.

Switzerland is basically a grand version of the Parliamentary fees office. The case of those 'fake' bonds also shed light on the Swiss Free Ports, a legal no-man's land for crooked transactions.

I suppose if things get really bad for the Swiss they will have to start selling a little of the stockpile of gold they plundered, I wonder if they've brothered to chisel the swastikas off any of the bars?

Edited June 29, 2009 by sillybear2

[SHERWICK]

The whole Swiss economy is based on handling the money of criminals. It is a profitable and reliable business too, which is why they want to keep it.

Without their criminal enterprises, the Swiss economy will become much less wealthy.

Absolutely. How they've been 'allowed' by the rest of the world to keep it going for so long is a mystery.

[Cogs]

There has long been a powerful lobby in the US unamused with the Swiss.

They've wanted an excuse to go after them for ages.

Something to do with playing banker over their parent's and grandparent's fillings.

Some people are so thin skinned!

Frankly I'd be quite happy to look the other way while the USMC took names and emptied deposit boxes.

It would be hypocritical for the Swiss to complain after all.

Edited June 29, 2009 by Cogs

[Guest sillybear2]

Absolutely. How they've been 'allowed' by the rest of the world to keep it going for so long is a mystery.

It's not exactly a mystery when you consider that most other countries in the world are run by criminals looking to hide their ill gotten gains. Back in the day we had state sponsored piracy, now we have fraud, corruption and a safe place is needed by the elites to stash and divide up the slush funds.

[SHERWICK]

It's not exactly a mystery when you consider that most other countries in the world are run by criminals looking to hide their ill gotten gains. Back in the day we had state sponsored piracy, now we have fraud, corruption and a safe place is needed by the elites to stash and divide up the slush funds.

Good point.

[The Eagle]

This thread is so full of dumb, mindless comments, it's beyond belief.

The Swiss economy is certainly not based mainly on banking, Switzerland has more real economy (pharma, chemicals, high-tech, precision mechanics, internet businesses) than the UK.

If anything the UK attracts more criminal money than Switzerland because of it's non-residents zero-tax rate for rich foreigners (like all those russian mafia types that love London so much and a lot of shady middle-eastern types).

Also the biggest tax havens are all Crown territories (Channel Islands, IoM, Caymans, Bermuda, BVI, etc).

Think before posting drivel.

Edited June 29, 2009 by wise_eagle

[yellerkat]

+1 (And I love Switzerland. Whereas the US and UK government feel like the crooks and thugs to me.))

+2. An easy target.

[Guest sillybear2]

This thread is so full of dumb, mindless comments, it's beyond belief.

The Swiss economy is certainly not based mainly on banking, Switzerland has more real economy (pharma, chemicals, high-tech, precision mechanics, internet businesses) than the UK.

Great, so the Swiss have nothing to worry about then, they can just abolish their privacy/crook protection laws tomorrow and it wont have any impact on them because their economy doesn't revolve around operating the worlds biggest washing machine. If they have such a successful real economy why do their honest companies allow their banks to give the country a bad name?

[SHERWICK]

This thread is so full of dumb, mindless comments, it's beyond belief.

The Swiss economy is certainly not based mainly on banking, Switzerland has more real economy (pharma, chemicals, high-tech, precision mechanics, internet businesses) than the UK.

If anything the UK attracts more criminal money than Switzerland because of it's non-residents zero-tax rate for rich foreigners (like all those russian mafia types that love London so much and a lot of shady middle-eastern types).

Also the biggest tax havens are all Crown territories (Channel Islands, IoM, Caymans, Bermuda, BVI, etc).

Think before posting drivel.

"While the financial industry makes up about 15 percent of the Swiss economy, it's driven about 50 percent of growth in recent years".

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=new...id=aoe8EmRvoLtk

So what drivel has been posted? It's a well known fact that Swiss bank accounts are used by the very wealthy to hide their ill-gotten gains. Just because the UK and the USA also allow it, doesn't make it ok. In fact, do you know whether or not the Swiss have used the profits from banking over the last 100 years to finance growth in pharma, chemicals, high-tech, precision mechanics, internet businesses??? I would bet that they have.

I like Roger Federer too, but it doesn't mean the Swiss are beyond reproach.

Edited June 29, 2009 by SHERWICK

[Tiger Woods?]

Absolutely. How they've been 'allowed' by the rest of the world to keep it going for so long is a mystery.

It's a mystery to you? Think about who "allowed" them to keep going for a minute...

[The Eagle]

Great, so the Swiss have nothing to worry about then, they can just abolish their privacy/crook protection laws tomorrow and it wont have any impact on them because their economy doesn't revolve around operating the worlds biggest washing machine. If they have such a successful real economy why do their honest companies allow their banks to give the country a bad name?

Privacy is fundamental human right, anyone who comes with the "nothing to hide, nothing to fear" argument deserves all the misery they will get.

The world's biggest washing machines are operated by the british crown (probably the biggest criminals in the world together with a few banking and oil families), particularly in the Cayman Islands. Go look up who is one of the biggest US public debt owners in the world, you guessed it, the Cayman Islands (or rather anonymous customers of Cayman banks).