WH23 and AudreysII-VI also use a credit union. But yeah, I'm sure you can find better rates and better banks somewhere else, too.
If a metal becomes industrially useful that will happen, simply because of the demand. I think (not really sure at all tho') that palladium has had some new industrial process that requires it drive the price.You should see the upward curve for palladium... wished I'd invested in that. Well, I wish I had been born early enough to invest in that.
Switzerland's oldest bank is to shut down after it admitted to helping American clients evade $1.2bn in taxes.
Wegelin becomes the first foreign bank to plead guilty to tax evasion in the U.S and must pay $57.8m (£36m) in fines to the US authorities.
Once it has paid off its fines it will 'cease to operate as a bank.'
The bank, established in 1741, confessed to allowing more than 100 American citizens hide $1.2bn from the Internal Revenue Service for nearly a decade.
America's recent crackdown on tax evaders and offshore accounts discouraged Swiss banks from taking on U.S. customers.
But Wegelin, based in the Swiss town of St Gallen did not follow suit.
US Attorney Preet Bharara told the BBC: 'The bank wilfully and aggressively jumped in to fill a void that was left when other Swiss banks abandoned the practice due to pressure from US law enforcement.
"A major question was left hanging by the plea: has the bank turned over, or does it plan to disclose, names of American clients to US authorities? This is a key demand in a broad US investigation of tax evasion through Swiss banks.
“It is unclear whether the bank was required to turn over American client names who held secret Swiss bank accounts,” said Jeffrey Neiman, a former federal prosecutor involved in other Swiss bank investigations who is now in private law practice in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
“What is clear is that the Justice Department is aggressively pursuing foreign banks who have helped Americans commit overseas tax evasion,” he said."
It is generally assumed that Wegelin will be used as a witness to the US prosecutors in future cases against a dozen or so other banks:
“In court, Wegelin’s managers said they knew it was wrong, but thought they would not be prosecuted because it was legal in Switzerland and common practice in Swiss banking.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-20909168
My bet is that serial felony tax evader Bishop Gecko refused to release his tax returns because he was caught in the earlier Swiss bank tax evasion and probably took advantage of the IRS amnesty to avoid jail.
they wouldve made billions already, 50m fine is like only a months potential earnings anyway, dunno why they going to cease to exists...i wonder what happens to those accounts in that bank, SUSPEND/freeze the accounts?
i don't get how the we have authorities in all these other countries. who the are we to dictate to swiss banks? and how is it that the DEA operates globally..i wish we'd just back up and go the home, stop making enemies and immorally trying to spread our imperialism and just go the home. i'm not for defending rich tax evaders, but damn i get tired of our nose being all over the place and often wonder how we even have that authority.
i dunno what they have done that broke any tax laws, when as long u comply/exploit the loopholes in taxation law, then the govt has no right to be chasing these individuals/en ies....
Swiss Banks Accused Of Aiding U.S. Tax Evasion Will Begin Cooperating
Swiss authorities have cleared the way for the country’s notoriously secretive banks to cooperate with U.S. tax evasion investigations.
The banks still cannot provide client names under a government program that seeks to balance strict bank secrecy laws in Switzerland with U.S. interests. Instead, they may share other information on account activity that the investigators can use to track down tax cheats. Doing so will help the banks avoid criminal prosecution in the U.S. and help American efforts to claw back some of the trillions of dollars the country has lost to tax evasion since 2001.
From 2001-2010, over $3 trillion that should have gone to the U.S. treasury was lost to tax evasion.
Eighty-five percent of tax evaders are individuals, according to a Demos report, and most of those individuals evade income taxes by underreporting business income.
Not all of the money is simply sitting in vaults in Geneva, but offshore bank accounts are a key component of many common tax evasion schemes.
“Swiss secrecy laws have helped to make the country the world’s biggest offshore finance centre,” according to Reuters.
To understand Switzerland’s motivations in cooperating, it helps to recall the case of the country’s oldest bank, Wegelin & Co. The Justice Department indicted the bank in February of 2012 on tax evasion charges involving $1.2 billion in bank holdings. Eventually the bank plead guilty and was forced to close its doors after 250 years in business. Contrast that with the 2009 case of UBS, which eventually cooperated with DOJ and paid a $780 million fine to settle allegations it helped American clients hide $18 billion from U.S. taxes. UBS is still in business.
http://thinkprogress.org/economy/201...n-cooperating/
I wonder if felony tax cheater Bishop Gecko has moved his funds out of Switzerland?
Is Obama now looking for all his hard earned trillions stolen by people?
2001 - 2009, your Repug assholes were running the IRS, includes the years serial felony tax evader Bishop Gecko refused to divulge his tax returns
We need to get you two to have a full out internet brawl going.
It would be epic. TB's head would probably explode.
In this corner, weighing in at 12 lbs, boutons "cut and paste" deux!
And in this corner, weighing in at various weights, depending upon wildly fluctuating co2 levels and the inherent unknowingness of the solubility of methane and seawater, Wild "I'll pull something out of my ass" Cobra!
Wooot!!!!
*ding - ding!*
GFY, less cowardly stalker.
Stop Stalking Me!
TB
Salty.
There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
