2009 February » Tax Research UK

UBS – shouldn’t they be shut down in the UK now as an improper person to offer financial advice?

Banking, Jersey, Switzerland, Tax Havens 8 Responses »

Feb 222009

UBS is a bank now proven to be guilty of systemic fraud.

And now the US Department for Justice is suggesting it assisted at least 52,000 people evade their US tax obligations.

I’m not surprised. It’s not alone in such activity. But there’s a strange fact that seems to have been ignored in the reporting of all this, and that is the fact that this bank is a major player in the UK. This comes from the UBS UK web site:

When wealth grows, so does the complexity of its management. At UBS your dedicated Client Adviser will seek out the specialist expertise and resources needed to help you achieve your goals, allowing you to benefit from the network and specific skills of UBS, one of the world’s leading wealth managers.

As we are long-established in the UK, we understand the unique needs of those living and working here – the tax regime, regulatory environment and legislative issues – and can therefore offer you a complete range of investment services that are personalised to your individual needs.

Through our offices in London, Birmingham, Brighton, Edinburgh, Manchester, Newcastle and Taunton, we offer you local expertise, backed up by global resources

Let me ask a simple question? 52,000 cases of alleged fraud in the USA. So how many in the UK?

Who is officially asking?

Who is investigating?

Who is reporting?

We need to know. Because candidly, I don’t trust this bank. It’s giving me no reason to do so. In that case why is it still operating here?

And why is it doing so quite so blatantly though tax havens? There’s this too from its web UK sites:

UK Domestic
David Rowe
UBS AG
1 Curzon Street
London W1Y 7FN
Great Britain
+44 20 7567 8000

UK International
Hendrik Geldenhuys
UBS AG
Paradeplatz 6
8098 Zurich
Switzerland
+41 1 234 11 11

Jersey
Eduard Klein
UBS AG
24, Union Street
St. Helier, Jersey JE4 8UJ
Channel Islands (U.K.)
+44 1534 701 000.

Doesn’t that just inspire you with confidence as to their probity? The UK operation seems little more than a front for tax haven activity.

And then look at what they’re offering:

Our products and services will assist you in planning and implementing your investment strategies so you can provide the best possible advice and support to your clients. Specialist teams provide expert advice and co-ordinate your access to all areas of UBS.

Products and services:

- Wealth management basic services
With an account and securities account at UBS, your clients have access to all the products and services of a globally oriented bank.

- Open fund architecture
Our offer includes more than 3,000 investment funds licensed for distribution in Jersey.

- Customised Fund Solutions
Assistance in establishing and managing your investment fund project.

- Active Trading Access
Direct access to events on the international stock markets optimizes your investment success.

- Structured investment products
Investment strategies for an optimal risk/return combination. Our specialists will assist you in implementing your own structured products.

- Modern technology

Electronic Banking – This e-banking service provides financial intermediaries with access to up-to-date asset information, reporting functions and financial information.

3,000 offshore funds in Jersey? Just ask yourself how much is involved in that. It has to be billions.

And why in Jersey, I wonder? All available on line for you to manage wherever you are as part of your “open fund architecture” that forms part of your “investment fund project” – located in “structured investment products” (which almost always means ‘avoids tax’, or worse, in the parlance of these banks).

What does this say to me? That this bank stinks. That’s what it says to me.

Regulators should be crawling all over this, now.

And if they’re not, why not? After all, is bank surely fails all ‘fit and proper’ tests to be a regulated financial adviser anywhere in the world now. You just can’t be guilty as they have admitted to being and pass that test. It isn’t possible. In which case they should be shut down.

So why are they still trading in the UK? Can anyone tell me?

The Problem Princes

Tax Havens Comments Off

Feb 222009

The above is the title of Dispatches on Channel 4 tomorrow (23 February) at 8pm.

The programme is about the role of our various royal princes, excluding Prince Charles on this occasion.

I make an appearance, so it’s pretty safe to assume money, offshore, or both feature in the tale.

I didn’t get sent to the Tower for doing the Dispatches on Prince Charles. I don’t suppose I will be for doing this one. But I do have a feeling my knighthood gets more remote by the day…:-)

The Isle of Man is still getting its VAT subsidy

Isle of Man, VAT 5 Responses »

Feb 192009

Those who argue with my analysis of the Isle of Man’s VAT subsidy from the UK keep saying that I’m wrong because the revised Common Purse Agreement that gives rise to this £200 million plus subsidy a year was revised in 2007, and so the sum will be going down soon.

So I looked at the detailed budget for the Isle of Man for 2009/10 published this week for evidence that this might happen. It’s here. Look at page 38.

In 2007/08 the Isle of Man had VAT receipts of £338 million – 56% of government income

In 2008/09 the figure is expected to be £338 million – 56% of government income.

In 2009/10 it is expected to be £292 million – 51% of government income from all sources.

So it has fallen – but not for the reason predicted. The VAT rate in the Isle of Man is, of course, set by the UK. So the fall from 17.5% to 15% cut this major source of revenue for the Manx Treasury. In fact, multiply £338 million by 15/17.5 and the answer is £290 million. In other words everything is carrying on as before.

The Common Purse Agreement is without doubt giving rise to subsidies to the Isle of Man exceeding £200 million a year.

Amazing, isn’t it? I can think of 200 million better uses for that right now. None are in the Isle of Man.

If Brown wants to tackle secrecy he’d better start at home

Corruption 4 Responses »

Feb 192009

It is notable that the Guardian thinks that Gordon Brown is targeting Switzerland as he opens up his own tax haven agenda.

However, if he thinks that Switzerland is the source of all secrecy then he had better think again. As the Swiss, quite correctly, point out it is at least as easy to create banking secrecy in the UK as it is in Switzerland. Simply combine a company, with nominee shareholders, nominee directors and a nominee secretary training from a post office box address, with a trust managed by professional trustees who have absolutely no idea what they are doing, and you have created a wall of secrecy that is a lot more impenetrable than most things that Switzerland has to offer.

And you don’t believe me that UK companies of this sort are available? You can get this package here:

Deluxe Package: a Private Company Limited by Shares in England or Wales. The registered office address, nominee director and nominee secretary for 12 months, provided by Coddan and £20.00 government fee for incorporation is included in the price of this package. The following documents, will be posted to you upon formation of your company: two hard bound copies of corporate documents includes: a laminated copy of the Certificate of Incorporation of your company, a hard bound copy of the Memorandum and Articles of Association, a hard bound copy of the Minutes of the First Meeting of Directors, share certificates, your company register. Pre-signed, undated resignation letter from Nominee Director, General Power of Attorney signed by Nominees, Indemnity Letter for General Power of Attorney and the Agreement for the provision of nominee service and indemnification of nominees. You can order additional services via the online order form at the same time as you order your company formation. Annual renewal fees for the registered office address, nominee director and for the nominee secretary services are from £224.95 – this will be due 12 months after the registration date of the company and will continue yearly thereafter.

For £224.95 you can hide away in the UK.

Gordon: the problem starts at home. And that’s where the reform has to happen as well.

Fox to lead global effort to tighten henhouse safety

Tax Havens Comments Off

Feb 192009

Read all about it!

My del.icio.us bookmarks for February 18th through February 19th

Delicious 1 Response »

Feb 192009

These are my links for February 18th through February 19th:

Second tax amnesty could hit offshore savers even harder – Accountancy Age – "Plans for a second offshore ‘tax amnesty’ by HM Revenue & Customs could see tougher penalties for people hiding their savings offshore, a tax expert has said"
The expert wasn't me

I want them prosecuted

I'll accept they can avoid that, but generosity need not be in the cards: the net is closing in anyway
Northern Rock shareholders lose battle in High Court – Telegraph – I should have noted this earlier
It was the only obvious outcome

These people must think we're mad if they think the government is going to underpin their gambling
Squeezing the mandarins until the pips squeak | ToUChstone blog: A public policy blog from the TUC – Cutting bonuses is an act of obligation
Progressive taxation would be better still
PwC to fail? | AccMan – Yes it will, in my opinion
I won't cry: they are a major obstacle to reform the world over

They gave us IFRS

They gave us auditing in its current form

They underpin the world's tax havens – and are still trying to create new ones in places like Jamaica

When they fail we can go forward

It will happen soon
Debtonation » Blog Archive » Finance’s corrupting power exposed – Appropriate comment from Ann Pettifor on the corrupting power of Mr Stanford's money

The Tiger needs state aid

Ireland 2 Responses »

Feb 192009

The Guardian has reported:

Brussels lumped Ireland together with Greece and Latvia yesterday on a hit list of countries with “excessive” government deficits, in the latest blow to the pride of the economy once envied across Europe and dubbed the Celtic Tiger.

Concerns about the deterioration in the public finances have become so severe that Ireland has even been compared with Iceland, which was forced to turn to the International Monetary Fund.

And the FT has reported that:

Germany signalled that it would support emergency action to protect the eurozone if one of its 16 member-states found itself in such serious difficulties that it could not refinance its debt.

The remarks underlined the concern with which Germany views the impact of the global economic crisis on Europe’s public finances, in the shape of sharply rising budget deficits and government debt. Berlin is also worried about excessive liquidity building in financial markets.

Mr Steinbr?ºck declined to elaborate on his comments about possible bail-outs of eurozone member states.

The reality is, of course, that the Eurozone would have to do this to support the currency.

The practice would have to be that strict conditions would also need to be imposed on the recipient state. In the case of Ireland the 12.5% tax rate would have to go. Beggars can’t be choosers.

The Tiger is reduced to a mouse being toyed with by the predatory cats.

Antigua: time that the developed nations

Development, Tax Havens Comments Off

Feb 192009

The FT has reported:

Shockwaves from Sir Allen Stanford’s alleged $8bn fraud have begun to spread around the world but it is the tiny island of Antigua that is at the epicentre of the quake.

Stanford is Antigua’s biggest employer.

There will be real hardship as a result of his fraud.

Now if the time for developed countries to show to secrecy jurisdictions that there is life after this pernicious activity: that aid will be given to help them redevelop their economies and that there are alternatives.

We must grab this opportunity to show that these places will not be left out in the cold when the suppliers of corruption services (of many types and names) depart their shores, as they inevitably will.

UBS: corrupt to its core

Corruption, Switzerland Comments Off

Feb 192009

Bloomberg reports:

UBS AG, Switzerland’s largest bank, will pay $780 million and disclose the names of some secret account holders to avoid U.S. prosecution on a charge that it helped thousands of wealthy Americans evade taxes.

The Justice Department accused UBS of conspiring to defraud the U.S. by helping 17,000 Americans hide accounts from the Internal Revenue Service. The U.S. will drop the charge in 18 months if the bank reforms its practices, helps prosecutors and makes payments. UBS will immediately turn over names of about 250 clients, according to people familiar with the matter.

I am pleased UBS ha pleaded guilty.

I am appalled that the fine appears to be a buy off from disclosing all 17,000 names of the guilty parties.

I note Carl Levin has said:

The UBS deferred prosecution agreement represents a tremendous breakthrough in the national effort to combat offshore secrecy and tax abuse. Efforts to tear away the offshore cloak of secrecy are gradually succeeding and will continue. I look forward to learning more about the details of this agreement at the Subcommittee hearing next week

I agree: getting a major bank to agree it was criminally corrupt to its very core, and that the Swiss banking economy has been built on the same basis is a major achievement.

And its clear Swiss banking secrecy has been blown apart too.

But the customers have to be brought to account too. There’s more for Carl Levin and his crew in the Senate Investigation’s Committee to do as yet.