Officials in Switzerland Push Back at Biden 'Tax Haven' Barb

[discocrisco01]

Source: Reuters

Swiss authorities are taking issue with U.S. President Joe Biden's comment that many companies use Switzerland, and two other territories, as tax havens, with the Swiss Federal Department of Finance calling such a claim “inappropriate and completely out of date.”

The pushback reported in Swiss media on Friday comes after Biden said in his speech to Congress on Wednesday that “a lot of companies also evade taxes through tax havens in Switzerland and Bermuda and the Cayman Islands” — part of his call for the rich and corporations to pay their fair share of tax.

“Switzerland considers this highlighting of Switzerland as a tax haven by the USA as inappropriate and completely out of date,” said spokeswoman Isabelle Roesch of the Swiss finance department in an email. “Switzerland meets all international standards in tax matters.”

Read more: https://www.usnews.com/news/business/articles/2021-04-30/officials-in-switzerland-push-back-at-biden-tax-haven-barb

[C_U_L8R]

1. Cyprus would be more on the money

Where Russian gangsters and corrupt republicans mingle their moolah

[EYESORE 9001]

2. I got two words for Swiss critics

Nazi gold.

[mountain grammy]

3. Seriously!

[MoriaeEncomium]

12. Was thinking the exact same thing.

I read a book once about some of the financial skeevery and subterfuge that went on during WWII. The book title evades me now but it
highlighted the Swiss and their profiting off all of the money gold and jewels that were smuggled into Switzerland by the oppressed
populations and their agents to avoid plunder by the nazis. They did so in good faith that their fortunes would be there for them if they manged to escape .
Alot of these 'depositors' were killed, imprisoned or disappeared.
The Swiss bankers kept this very quiet and ended up keeping the fortunes of untold numbers of people/families for themselves.
IMHO they have never been honest brokers.

[brewens]

4. "Switzerland meets all international standards in tax matters." And that may be the problem. I was

calling for Warren to run on a world wide war on white collar crime. I didn't expect that, but would have loved it.

More needs to be said about this. Why do we put up with this crap? Offshore banking, tax shelters, shell corporations; all to beat countries out of taxes corporations should owe. It's not just us.

[Backseat Driver]

9. I thought the Swiss had become a lot more compliant on issues of

American account-owner transparency after a change to American tax policies against anonymous accounts late last century. At first there was a lot of push-back from those financial houses about the disruption to the "privacy" and "discretion" in fiduciary matters of those un-numbered and -named accounts. What became of those IRS rules? No way to enforce or do oversight? MIHOP?...forked DC tongues? In the end, there have been many other global tax havens, legit (LOL) and for money-laundering, et al ilicit partnerships. I think TPTB cite Switzerland most often, probably because of the Germans stash of loot and treasure before, during, after the world wars. (Clearing throat) - neutrality is HARD!

PS: Ah, after reading down, I see the real results of those policies/legislation from DC and elsewhere!

[Ford_Prefect]

5. It seems to me very unlikely Biden would make that reference inaccurately.

It is true that the Swiss have improved on that score but only due to enormous political pressure. Cyprus, Panama, and a number of others less well known remain common places much as Liberia has been for ship registration.

[DFW]

6. The Swiss are exactly right on this

Due to widespread criticism some 30 years ago, they made just about everyone not a Swiss citizen, or a Swiss company doing active sales close their bank accounts and empty their safety deposit boxes. The country has done a complete 180 from the days when any crackpot dictator could park no-questions-asked funds there. Companies that had legit Swiss franc denominated bank accounts to purchase Swiss goods for export to their own countries had to close those accounts as well, doing some serious damage to the Swiss economy.

The legend of Switzerland as a haven for secret illegal anything has been outdated for more than a generation. There are precious few such havens left in Europe. Luxembourg was another. I was told by a Canadian I met that Estonia was now the „new Switzerland“ in Europe, which is why he had moved there. I wouldn‘t know one way or the other. But I am in Switzerland several times a year and speak all three major languages spoken there. The legend of the secret Swiss bank account full of unimaginable sums belonging to dictators who looted their countries or tax refugees who drop in once a year to see what condition their fortune is in is—since the mid 1990s at least, anyway—just that: a thing of the past. Do all the finger pointing you want, but all but the most senior employees in today‘s Swiss banks would ask, with genuine bewilderment, wtf were you thinking if you walk in there asking to open a bank account or take a safety deposit box without Swiss citizenship, or at least a legitimate registered residence in Switzerland (equivalent of our green card).

[elleng]

11. Thanks. I hope the administration learns this.

[DFW]

13. Joe Biden was in the Senate in the "old" days

He may not have been in on the actual exerting of pressure on Switzerland to change their ways. But Switzerland was threatened (mostly by the USA) to abandon their old traditions or face big sanctions. Although their banking system took a huge hit in business, they have a huge portion of their population involved in other sectors, such as manufacturing, tourism, and service, and I'm betting they calculated that they had more to lose if those sectors got a big hit than just the banking sector. The term "secret Swiss Bank account" is probably still in use on some circles, and I think he just remembered the old days without even being up on the current situation.

I promise you the Commerce Department, the Treasury Department and the State Department know this, and have known it for decades. It was at their urging, after all, the the Swiss changed their rules in the first place.

[elleng]

14. Thanks

[LittleGirl]

7. That guy was hysterical!

The Swiss have banks here that don’t even belong in the city of Basel. Their walls are physically in the city banking center but are as tight as Fort Knox! Liars!

You know what the FATCA law did to us Americans living in Switzerland? We can’t get local bank accounts because they don’t believe in reporting to the IRS! We’re not rich, we’re working class and the IRS has made our life harder than necessary. Don’t even get me started about taxation without representation, like DC has. We expats living abroad are subjected to sending in tax forms every year at our own expense!

That guy is just taking the criticism personally! Liar.

[DFW]

16. The USA is one of 3 countries in the world that doesn't recognize residence-based taxation

The other two are Eritrea and some other small African country.

EVERY other country in the world leaves their citizens alone, tax-wise, if they have a legitimate residence in another country. Only the USA (and the other two mentioned above) makes its citizens file costly double returns. Not only does it cost me (as you) an arm and a leg, but the Germans also choose to ignore parts of the Double Taxation Treaty between themselves and the USA, and want to tax me twice on certain income that is already source-taxed in the USA (i.e. tax paid up front before I get the first cent), even though their constitution expressly forbids it. I have a meeting tentatively scheduled with 3 US Senators to talk about this, but it's difficult to find the time, and many Democrats are still caught up in the rhetoric that every American Abroad is some filthy rich "billionayah" looking to avoid paying their "fayah shayah." There are 9 million Americans Abroad, 6 million of us who are allowed to vote. Some, for political convenience, sound like they claim that 8,999,950 are greedy billionaires hiding from the IRS, and 50 are legit workers, when the true numbers are the opposite.

[LittleGirl]

19. Exactly DFW! eom

[Texin]

8. Hmmm. Guess the truth hurts.

I can't even imagine how anyone in Switzerland can pretend to be offended by what everyone knows - and has known - is the most protected tax haven in the world.

[DFW]

20. If they knew it in 1980, they might have had a case

Although even back then, the Cayman Islands, Luxembourg, Andorra, and Monte Carlo could have offered up some stiff competition.

But today? Only if your source of information is Fox "News," or QAnon, or some equally reliable source. Switzerland hasn't been anything like a protected tax haven, much less "the most protected tax haven in the world" for decades. When is the last time you were there for work, and which of their languages do you speak?

[NurseJackie]

10. The very careful parsing of words and splitting of hairs doesn't change the reality.

“Switzerland meets all international standards in tax matters.”

The very careful parsing of words and splitting of hairs doesn't change the reality.

[Mr. Ected]

15. I have a feeling Joe will be reframing his statement

Switzerland is no longer the tax haven it used to be. Times have changed. Joe wasn't berating them for Nazi gold. His statement was meant to be present-day, and to that extent, he misspoke.

[DENVERPOPS]

17. Tell Joe

to change Switzerland to the Cayman Islands............The people I know who have off shored their money have it in the Caymans....

The banks down there also issue credit cards. U.S. Law enforcement and IRS cannot subpoena records of an account for a card issued by a foreign bank and held by a U.S. citizen.......an extra special bonus for the Cayman's U.S. clientele......

[George II]

18. I know there's a lot of snow in Switzerland, but snowflakes?

[AllaN01Bear]

21. its about time . the feds should have closed those loopholes along time ago.