Bloomberg has reported this morning that:
Switzerland must eliminate banking secrecy and renegotiate tax accords with the U.K. and Germany that clash with regional initiatives, according to European Union Tax Commissioner Algirdas Semeta.
While Switzerland agreed in March 2009 to meet international standards to avoid being blacklisted as a tax haven by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, bilateral agreements signed in September with Germany and the U.K. allow client identities to remain secret.
“Banking secrecy that allows companies or individuals to hide taxes has no future,” Semeta said in an interview in Brussels.
I wonder which bit of that Dave Hartnett and george Osborne, with their appalling tax deal with Switzerland don't understand?
Nor come to that, which buit those from Switzerland who defend such deals in comments on this blog don't understand.
Swiss banking secrecy has to die because it exists to facilitate tax and other crimes. Now let's move in to kill it.
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There are two hopes that Rubik in any shape or form will prevail. No hope and Bob Hope… and Bob passed away many years ago.
Now for the ultimate chutzpah. Switzerland is threatening the EU it will not discuss extending the EU savings tax unless the EU Commission waives its objections to the Rubik agreements. Kinda like those Swiss bankers that threatened the US could not touch Swiss banks because no law is being broken in the Alps.
Diverging strategic views between Switzerland and the EU may well heighten tension between them. On 2 February, the Danish EU Council Presidency expressed a firm determination to open new talks with Bern on savings taxation. Just the day before, however, the Swiss government warned that it would not enter into such talks if the European Commission did not first waive its objections to the entry into force of the Rubik agreements Bern has concluded with Germany and the United Kingdom.
LoL.
Awfully quiet from those trolls who repeatedly swore unequivocally on this blog that the EU Commission would never dare intervene against the all powerful Germans.. and that the EU Member States dire requirements for fiscal revenues would override all objections to the Rubik deal.