WE Just MAde Another Country Mad At Us!

D

Damn Yankee

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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.

Switzerland should also reconsider its policy of representing the United States in countries where it has no diplomatic presence, the parliamentary SVP said in a statement.

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.

The comments came after UBS agreed on Wednesday to pay a fine of $780 million and to disclose about 250 names of U.S. clients it said had committed tax fraud to settle U.S. criminal charges that it had helped rich Americans dodge taxes.

U.S. tax authorities said on Thursday they were still pursuing a civil case against UBS seeking access to thousands more names of U.S. citizens it says are hiding about $14.8 billion in assets in secret Swiss bank accounts. [ID:nN19534438]

The SVP also said it would call for an urgent debate in parliament on ways to protect Swiss banking secrecy from "further foreign blackmail". (Reporting by Emma Thomasson)
 
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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.

Switzerland should also reconsider its policy of representing the United States in countries where it has no diplomatic presence, the parliamentary SVP said in a statement.

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.

The comments came after UBS agreed on Wednesday to pay a fine of $780 million and to disclose about 250 names of U.S. clients it said had committed tax fraud to settle U.S. criminal charges that it had helped rich Americans dodge taxes.

U.S. tax authorities said on Thursday they were still pursuing a civil case against UBS seeking access to thousands more names of U.S. citizens it says are hiding about $14.8 billion in assets in secret Swiss bank accounts. [ID:nN19534438]

The SVP also said it would call for an urgent debate in parliament on ways to protect Swiss banking secrecy from "further foreign blackmail". (Reporting by Emma Thomasson)
 
I can't believe the swiss are selling one of the things that they are known for...

that will have repercussions

How does the IRS have any control over a foreign bank?
 
...MacArthur was right...we should have taken them all out while we had the chance...
 
I'm sure BHO could give a crap. We won't need the Swiss to talk to any of those country's without diplomatic ties, he will just go talk to them himself and give them a big fat credit card so they will be our friends now.
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Why didn't I think of that? He's gonna fix everything!
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Those sneaky Swiss, helping Americans dodge taxes by being confidential, I am shocked! Who would have thought that "Swiss Bank Account" might be something that someone wanted as a secret. Imagine that!
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News flash! "Another" country PO'd at us?
We're already like the pinata' at half the worlds party? Screw 'em! Get in line with the rest...
 
There is a somewhat unusual aspect to this complaint. Usually we are harangued by leftist for bullying the world's down trodden (that is their job after all). the Swiss are pissed because we are forcing them to help beat down our own citizens. I could live there if it weren't so close to France.
 
Just my two cents

It's funny how all this countries point the finger against the Swiss and forget completely the financial-place of Delaware, Florida, Monaco, Austria, Lichtenstein, Luxembourg, Cayman Island, Andorra, Jersey etc. Maybe they should all clean in the own backyard first.

And it's funny that nobody talk about the US-citizen, German-citizen, French-citizen, etc. who bring the money to all this places. Maybe all this countries should think about the reason why so much people are not any longer ready to bring the hard-earned money to the government for all this senseless things they do with it. Hell, as long a german unemployed got more money from the social-security system without a job, than he would have with a job (minus taxes, minus traveling to and back from work, food in a restaurant, clothes, shoes etc.) Hell, what is wrong with a Government-system when a swedish docter works only three days a week, because if he works longer than that, the money he earned from day four and five goes to 100 percent to the taxes???!!!

C'mon wake up. Ask a belgian worker. Every belgian worker supports two unemployed. But many of this unemployed got the own little business running. And they don't pay a dime taxes. The Gov. knows this, but they don't do anything, because the next election will come and they need the voting from this big bunch of cheaters. I fully understand that this hard working people has enough to be sucked out and look for other solutions. And some found the way to Switzerland......and other countries.

Please don't take the next words as a attack against the members here. The biggest mistake the UBS ever made was to buy the US-investment-bank. Before this, the UBS was a very conservative and carefull bank. But the american-way of banking was sexy and a big temptation for all this managers. And greed was never a good friend.

I got a good job and work hard, like my wife does. We pay a big share of taxes but in Germany i would pay easy the double amount We got big responsabilitis in our jobs. But if i would only have the burden in my job and at the end of the year just a little bit more than the one that leave his brain at home and works from nine to five, this would be completeley wrong.

So who wants to throw the first stone? I'm here!

And HarryWatson, I don't know who you are and i don't care. But this was not necessary, got no relevance with the discussion and I don't discuss on this low level.

ParadiseRoad, your comment brings me to the idea, that your place in the history-lessons were very close by the window.

Swissman (and that with proud)
 
You are all missing the point. It isn't that they arn't paying taxes, hell, you could say that about most of his cabinet. The real gripe is that they are RICH, and probably conservative to boot!!
 
Swisman,

Please inform me on a question that I had and perhaps a clarification...

Aren't those "secret" bank accounts something totally different than a regular Swiss bank account that everyone uses to make regular transactions like going to the store and shopping?

I have been told that the Swiss do not use credit or debit cards the same way we do...they use a type of checking system that would be strange to Americans if we had to use it.
Am I correct, or has it changed in the 15 or so years since I heard this?

Just curious...and it might help clarify some mis-information.
 
Originally posted by Andy Griffith:
Swisman,

Please inform me on a question that I had and perhaps a clarification...

Aren't those "secret" bank accounts something totally different than a regular Swiss bank account that everyone uses to make regular transactions like going to the store and shopping?

I have been told that the Swiss do not use credit or debit cards the same way we do...they use a type of checking system that would be strange to Americans if we had to use it.
Am I correct, or has it changed in the 15 or so years since I heard this?

Just curious...and it might help clarify some mis-information.
Click to expand...

Some swiss-banks got numbers-accounts which are anonymous. The first idea was privacy, because here in Europe was (and still is, but not so much) having succsess a bit embarrassing. Sounds funny but it was (is) so. Any good idea can be used and abused this is clear. But it is far from that picture that runs now around the world about the Swiss financial-business. The biggest part of the financial business is based on normal and serious lawfull standards. The trust and reputation that the Swiss-banks build up all over the world was not made with this number-accounts. It's clear, if you got a anonym account, you will not use it for standard transactions. They will be used for investment etc. and for sure it is possible for illegal things like tax-cheating. But as long some bank-managers don't help the customers in a active way to cheat the Gov., you got the same situation like with a gun-factory or a car-factory. Shooting someone is a crime. Sue Colt!! Drunk driving is illegal. So blame GM!!!

The Credit-Cards are not very long a common paying-system. I think the upward-curve starts ten years ago, but slowly. In Switzerland is cash still #1. Then the payingcards with a pincode for paying direct from your own bank-account. And then credit-cards. We got many shops where you can't pay anything with a credit-card becaus the commission of Mastecard Visa etc. got no place in the calculation. So if you visit Switzerland, be sure to have some Swiss-Francs in cash. (Cirme-rate is also pretty low).
Checks are not welcom in Switzerland. Ok, maybe Travellerchecques, but nothing else.

The second reason for the slow start of the credit-cards is. that we were raised with the parole: First you save the money and then you buy something. To have liabilities because of consumerproducts was nothing that the Swiss can live with.

This all has now changed pretty strong in the last five years. The commercials and the economy does the job pretty good. We got many households that got to much month at the end of the money
icon_frown.gif
, but this stupid ***holes buy and buy like if there is no tommorrow. Specially the young ones walk in this debt-trap, because of the credit-card-bastards. (sorry to say that, but most of them are US-companys).

This are some reasons why the credit-cards got not a good name in Switzerland. I use one on business-trips in other countries, but this is a card of the company. Swisswife owns a card as a backup-solution, booking flights etc. online.

Swissman
 
Thank you Swissman
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I hope others read that!

Spread the word over there and don't let your Swiss friends get into trouble with credit cards the same way Americans have as a whole!

My family grew up living very poor.
My mother's family didn't have electricity until 1959 because they lived so far up in the mountains of Georgia. (Nothing like your mountains, though.
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)

My family has never bought anything that they couldn't pay for with the exception of groceries- which they paid for at the end of the week.

Do you want to know what the worst thing is about the whole credit card thing is? There is no such thing any more as "house accounts" at your local hardware and grocery store.

I still have two "house accounts" at two hardware stores- one in both of my neighborhood counties. The credit card "centralized" credit and took it out of the hands of local merchants.
It also help take away the personal connection of people and turned them into consumers- just another number in the system.

I do believe that if a person in the U.S. took money away from someone illegally- and that includes the government (which incidentally, means it's taxpayer/citizen money, in case we have forgotten with all the hype about "government taking care of us"
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) I would think that the ill-gained money should be "kept" by the bank if it is out of our country.

I think that would discourage anyone from depositing ill-gained money if the bank could keep it if the depositor from out the country (any country) was found guilty in another country. At least, in theory it would work.

So long as the $#@%@%$#@%$#@ guys that got the "loot" dishonestly do not get the money back- I'm happy.
 
Originally posted by 44forever:
You are all missing the point. It isn't that they arn't paying taxes, hell, you could say that about most of his cabinet. The real gripe is that they are RICH, and probably conservative to boot!!
Click to expand...

It's not that they're rich, it's that the espouse paying your fair share of taxes but don't pay their own. It's that they write the tax law but are too good for it. I think that pretty much describes a hypocrite.
 
When I saw this thread I hoped our good friend Swissman would answer, and he has so well!

I'm not surprised.

It looks like the Swiss do a lot of things right . . . and right now BHO refuses to give us all a break, afraid we might KEEP it. The US system so depends on mass slavery via credit cards and loans. Not so in Switzerland.

Frankly, if we have a problem with the money that was taken sixty years ago (which is noble of course), we don't have to look any further than the ground under our feet here in America and realize that it too was taken from it's original owners via the barrel of a gun and the edge of a sword.

Heck, I'm so moved by my own statement that I think I'll call up a Native American and give it back to him. NOT!

WAIT . . . I almost forgot . . . I don't OWN it yet . . . it belongs to @#$@#$ Wells Fargo.
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I have long said the most civilized country in the world is not the United States, but Switzerland. The bigger US has more (civilized) people, but also a ton of uncivilized people.

I am proud to be a US citizen, but would be even more proud to be a Swiss citizen. Imagine living where there are no drive-by shootings every weekend and most of the Illinois governors in jail!

Just one comment from the heartland of America.
 
Well, maybe the South will rise again?

Only this time, I'll probably start with Idaho and Montana.
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I just fail to see any Robert E. Lee and Sam Houston types...
 
Originally posted by Swissman:
Just my two cents


C'mon wake up. Ask a belgian worker. Every belgian worker supports two unemployed. But many of this unemployed got the own little business running. And they don't pay a dime taxes. The Gov. knows this, but they don't do anything, because the next election will come and they need the voting from this big bunch of cheaters.
Swissman (and that with proud)
Click to expand...

Swissman, we have the same problem. How do you think Obama got elected int he first place.
 
Well I wasn't going to say anything But...
I'll start with KeithCarter,If you have corrupt governers and they are not in jail,Their is something wrong with your countries laws that allow this type of thing to happen,Secondly drive by shootings are happening because of the criminal gangs that your government won't stop.Lets look at who are the gang members,Majority are Blacks and Mexicans and the rest are wanna be's.As for being more proud to be a Swiss citizen....Just go ,No one is stopping you,you live in a free country not a neutral one.Now for the swiss acounts that are kept annonomous,It could be true what swissman says,But we all know that all the foreign accounts are their for one reason and that is to hide money that can't be traced.This has been going on for years.Drug money,Stolen money,Fallen governments all over the world have made deposits that can't be traced.And You know and I know the Swiss gov and banks knew this.Their is a hell of a lot more that could be said here.

Ken
 
My answer to Aussie44:

Why is all the dirty money in Switzerland and all the clean money on the Bermudas, Monaco etc.?????? For sure we got our share of dirty money on this anonymus accounts. I've never denied it and I'm for sure not proud of it. But to accuse Switzerland as the only bad guy in this financial game is pretty easy. Much to easy.

Australia is very far away from Switzerland. So I had to update myself a bit and watching how well fits Australia to my first statement. Here for the members. Maybe it's the cause that should be repaired and not the symptoms!!!

The Australian income-tax-rules 2006/2007 (They are pretty fair til 80'000)

$A 0 'til $A 6000...............0
$A 6,001 'til $A 25,000.........15 Cent for every $A over $A 6,000 = ca. 10%
$A 25,001 bis $A 75,000.........$A 2,850 plus 30 Cent for every $A over $A 25,000 ($A 50'000 = 10'350.-- taxes = 20%)
$A 75,001 bis $A 150,000........$A 17,850 plus 40 Cent for every $A over $A 75,000 ($A 100'000 = 27'850 .-- taxes = 27.8%)
Over $A 150,000................ $A 47,850 plus 45 Cent for every $A over $A 150,000

That's pretty fair, but the following-part shows pretty clear that the Australian tax-jungle is incredible.

Next to the income tax Australia got many other taxes that must be payed mostly from the entrepreneurs. This citizen who take the risk, the burden to run a business, generating jobs, etc. Here a small choice of them:

Corporate Tax for every business: 30% of the business-profit per year.
Goods and Services Tax (GST): 10% for every business with a turnover $A 50'000 or more.
Payroll Tax: 6% A business with a payroll higher than $A 600'000 pays this to the Gov.
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Fringe Benefits Tax: 46% Example: The businessowner pays for the worth of f.e. 7'000 miles that the employee can drive privatly with the businesscar. Or if the businessowner loans the employee money for lower than normal interests.
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Without a tax-expert is it not possible to run a business in Australia and i think this expert will cost you easy another $A 5000.-- a year. (plus tax
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)


A bit dizzy

Swissman
 
For one thing I never said all the dirty money was in Swiss banks but most..I do my own tax and run a business,I'm no expert,So you If you decide you want an expert to do your taxes it won't cost you $5000 but about $500,Unless you are a multi millionair or higher then it might cost you a bit to get your taxes done.One other thing all those corporate monies and the fee for the expert are tax deductable.Anyway I'm not badmouthing you or the Swiss only telling it like it is with the Governments and Banks.Also what does the Australian tax bracket have to do with what we are talking about here??

Ken
 
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