Switzerland

French officials abuse visa-free travel to spy on tax dodgers in Switzerland

"The French tax officials reportedly travel to Switzerland with a friend or family member when they are supposed to be officially on holiday. They use private credit cards for all purchases in Switzerland and to avoid being caught by Swiss customs or radars, the officials purportedly use cars with interchangeable number plates or take a train. Once in Switzerland they travel around to make sure Swiss-based companies allegedly belonging to French citizens actually have real offices, employees and clients." Continue reading →

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Apple pays Swiss rail $21million over clock dispute

"US tech giant Apple has dished out 20 million Swiss francs ($21 million, 17 million euros) to compensate Swiss national rail operator SBB for using its famous clock without permission, a Swiss daily reported Saturday. The company agreed in October to pay the lump sum so it could continue using SBB’s Swiss-designed station clock face on its iPads and iPhones, the Tages-Anzeiger daily reported on its website, quoting several unnamed sources." Continue reading →

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Switzerland Will Continue to Thrive and Outperform

"Currency markets have a history of rewarding countries that are free. Why is that? Freer countries have the tendency to avoid over-taxation, over-regulation and support policies that promote freedom and innovation. Freer floating currency regimes allow market forces to play a role in determining value. Market forces and (truly) democratic systems, and particularly the Swiss system of direct democracy, create feedback mechanisms to help keep the excesses of government in check." Continue reading →

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Anthony Wile: Sit Silently … as Bombs Burst in Air

"This is one of the reasons that my family has decided to relocate back to the hills of Switzerland. I have truly had enough of this behavior. What makes Switzerland so bloody special? It is comprised of a populous that respects the privacy and rights of others to determine their own destiny. It is a society that is comprised of people who believe in the right of an individual to act in one's own self-interest but not to the detriment of others. It is a society that boasts the lowest corporate rate and among the lowest personal tax rates in the world – yet has arguably the highest standard of living on the planet." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAnthony Wile: Sit Silently … as Bombs Burst in Air

60 Minutes: The new tax havens

"Companies searching out tax havens is nothing new. In the 80s and 90s, there was an exodus to Bermuda and the Cayman Islands, where there are no taxes at all. When President Obama threatened to clamp down on tax dodging, many companies decided to leave the Caribbean, but instead of coming back home, they went to safer havens like a small, quaint medieval town in Switzerland called Zug. Hans Marti, who heads Zug's economic development office, showed off the nearby snow-covered mountains. But Zug's main selling point isn't a view of the Alps: he told Lesley Stahl the taxes are somewhere between 15 and 16 percent." Continue reading →

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Greek government loses track of, asks again for stolen Swiss account data

"Greece has asked France to re-send it a list of Greeks with Swiss bank accounts, Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras said on Wednesday, after an original list delivered in 2010 apparently went missing. The list was originally acquired from France's then finance minister Christine Lagarde two years ago and is part of account data leaked by an HSBC bank employee in Switzerland. The first recipient of the data, former finance minister George Papaconstantinou, on Wednesday told a parliamentary committee that he did not know what had happened to the original version." Continue reading →

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Secession Fever Sweeping Europe Meaningless Without Debt Repudiation

"It is time for the restoration of formerly independent countries, each with their own unique cultural and ethnic heritage, that were forced at gunpoint into larger empire states. Venice wants out of Italy, Catalonia out of Spain, Bavaria out of Germany, Scotland and Wales want to leave the United Kingdom, the Flemish want out of Belgium. Even Vermont and some in the South want to regain their former status as sovereign republics separate from the most debt-ridden empire in world history, the U.S. Just as important, Greece, Italy, Ireland, Spain and Portugal – with demands in Germany itself – want to leave the EU and euro witches' brew created by their leaders." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSecession Fever Sweeping Europe Meaningless Without Debt Repudiation

Zurich eyes halving corporate tax

"Zurich, Switzerland's largest city and financial hub, may cut its corporate tax rate nearly in half if foreign firms lose fiscal benefits amid EU pressure, the regional financial chief said on Tuesday. By doing so, Switzerland's economic centre would aim to convince foreign companies to remain in the canton even if Switzerland bows to EU pressure and alters a system allowing such firms to pay less taxes than Swiss companies. The Zurich proposal follows a similar proposal presented in Geneva last week, suggesting that Switzerland's second-largest business hub should cut its corporate tax rate from around 24 to 13 percent." Continue reading →

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Spanish savers move money to Switzerland

"Crisis-hit savers in Spain are transferring their their money to Switzerland for safety, the head of Geneva's 80-strong banking association said on Wednesday. In addition to an increase in Spanish funds, Droux said Geneva banks had seen an inflow of cash from other eurozone countries so far this year, as well as from the Middle East and developing countries including those in South America. Switzerland is not a member of the European Union and so is not a member of the eurozone." Continue reading →

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Switzerland: The Other Currency Manipulator

"Switzerland is manipulating its currency for the exact same reason China does: to help exporters gain a price advantage. And Switzerland is a big net exporter, with a current account surplus (exports minus imports) of 12 percent of GDP, compared to just 3 percent for China. Why aren’t we freaking out about Swiss currency manipulation? Probably because Switzerland’s small scale helps us understand what a manipulated currency really means: cheaper Swiss goods for U.S. consumers. With China, we somehow get this backwards." Continue reading →

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