Switzerland

French minister in charge of combating tax avoidance resigns over Swiss bank account

"Jérôme Cahuzac, French budget minister, resigned on Tuesday night following the opening of a judicial inquiry into a secret Swiss bank account allegedly held in his name but which he has repeatedly denied having. His resignation was announced by the Elysée Palace following weeks of mounting pressure on the Socialist politician. The move by prosecutors to open a full investigation into the Swiss UBS bank account he allegedly used to hide assets from the tax authorities, made Cahuzac's position untenable and deeply embarrassing for the Socialist government as he was the minister in charge of combating tax avoidance." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFrench minister in charge of combating tax avoidance resigns over Swiss bank account

U.S., French tax laws cause concern for expats of Switzerland

"The Swiss government signed the controversial Fatca deal with the US last month. Parliament is due to discuss it later this year and political parties on the right and left have already announced they will reject it. Fatca obliges foreign banks to report offshore accounts held by US tax payers, including expats. The law is part of a policy by the US authorities to crack down on tax dodgers. France has announced it wants to revise a 1953 accord in a bid to recover inheritance tax from its citizens living in Switzerland and force Swiss who own property in France to be taxed there. The Swiss Abroad community as well as the cantons strongly oppose the amendments." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingU.S., French tax laws cause concern for expats of Switzerland

Congress awards POW medals to US aviators interned in Switzerland

"Switzerland was the only neutral country during the Second World War to fully enforce the 1907 Hague Convention requiring the internment of foreign soldiers until the end of the conflict, according to Mears. Unlike Sweden, Portugal or Turkey, the Swiss neither handed over internees to Germany, nor did they take attempts to escape lightly. Nearly 70 years after being interned in a Swiss disciplinary camp and, for many, punished for trying to escape, a group of 157 American Second World War pilots and crew members have been awarded the Prisoner Of War Medal by the US Congress." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCongress awards POW medals to US aviators interned in Switzerland

Swiss to Ban Big Cash Purchases to Curb Money Laundering

"Switzerland is proposing to ban cash payments in excess of 100,000 francs ($107,500), including on watches and real estate, and wants to tighten the due diligence requirements for banks to prevent money laundering. Transactions above that amount will have to be processed through a bank. According to the proposal, banks will also have to undertake thorough checks to ensure funds are tax-compliant and must in the future refuse to accept any funds they believe are not declared. The measures implement recommendations from the Financial Action Task Force, an international organization tasked with co-ordinating the fight against money laundering." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSwiss to Ban Big Cash Purchases to Curb Money Laundering

Jump in Swiss jobs good news for expats

"The number of jobs offered in Switzerland has jumped by seven percent since the start of the year, offering encouragement to those considering a move to the country. The latest Michael Page Swiss Job Index shows more jobs being advertised across the country, with western Switzerland leading the way. Demand for engineers grew significantly and the negative trend in IT jobs reversed from last year. Other sectors showing big increases were the metal industry and health and social services. Swiss SMEs are generally hiring more than multinationals, 'which remain slightly conservative and cautious due to their greater exposure to global difficulties', Semeraro notes." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJump in Swiss jobs good news for expats

Geneva car show opens amid industry gloom

"Switzerland, the host of what is one of the auto industry's biggest events, is a rare bright spot on the crisis-hit continent. The Swiss, who do not belong to the EU, saw new car registrations jump 2.4 percent last year from an already record year in 2011, with 431,000 new registrations. For the neighbouring EU nations, however, the end of the tunnel remains out of sight and most experts refuse to guess when, if ever, the market will come roaring back and hit its pre-crisis 2007 level of 16 million cars sold." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGeneva car show opens amid industry gloom

World’s biggest gold storage company dumps US citizens

"ViaMat, a Swiss logistics company that has been safeguarding precious metals since 1945, is literally the gold standard in secure storage. They have vaults from Switzerland to Hong Kong to Dubai, and they count among their clients some of the largest mining companies in the world. They know what they’re doing. And now they’re dumping US citizens. ViaMat does a great deal of business within the United States. As such, the company is heavily exposed to the insane US regulatory environment. As an example, the 2010 Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act turned into more than 500 pages of regulation!" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWorld’s biggest gold storage company dumps US citizens

Credit Suisse Says Governments Are Discouraging Gold Holdings – And What It Misses

"In a globalist, technocratic society, civil society arises as a kind of negotiation between the demands of the state and the desires of its citizens. But in reality this is an entirely unequal discussion, as the state intends to impose its demands by force. What Credit Suisse and other firms are missing, however, is that the current arrangement is an unstable one that arrogates more and more power over time to the state. If citizens in various repressive states are hoarding gold, it is because they don't trust government-run currencies. Perhaps they hoard gold as well because taxes are continually rising and because price inflation is out of control." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCredit Suisse Says Governments Are Discouraging Gold Holdings – And What It Misses

Is America now the largest and most secret tax haven?

"According to the Financial Secrecy Index, America ranked #5 in 2011 in banking secrecy, trailing only after Switzerland, the Cayman Islands, Luxembourg and Hong Kong. America created FATCA to destroy its competition, forcing other countries to provide America with financial data while rejecting reciprocity. With America pushing Switzerland, the Cayman Islands, Luxembourg and Hong Kong to drop down the ranks in financial secrecy, will America finally succeed in achieving its goal of becoming the world’s largest and most secret tax haven at the expense of innocent Americans abroad whom it harmed in the process?" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIs America now the largest and most secret tax haven?