I'm still shocked by this statistic:
About 20,000 U.S. clients have about $18 billion on deposit with UBS in Switzerland, and about 19,000 of the clients have not disclosed their accounts to the IRS, the Swiss bank has told Senate investigators
I expected it to be bad, but not this bad.
95% non-disclosure? It's staggering.
That's what secrecy does for you.
And the Swiss wonder why they're under attack? It's amazing that they have the gall to defend themselves.
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Richard,
Putting aside whether any of the 20,000 are legally required to disclose, a few other statistics:
– the 20,000 represent .00015% of all individual US taxpayers (2005) http://www.irs.gov/taxstats/indtaxstats/article/0,,id=133414,00.html
– the 18 billion represents .0035% of income tax generated by all US taxpayers (2005) http://www.irs.gov/taxstats/indtaxstats/article/0,,id=129270,00.html
Not exactly an overwhelming threat to the republic…
Oh come on Georges
Most people don’t rape, murder or commit a terrorist offence. They’re still serious crimes and we certainly pursue them
Your arguments are reaching the point of the absurd
Richard,
One problem in the retort. Individuals who devise legal means to maintain more of their own wealth/income do not actually harm another individual or deprive another individual of anything.
Georges
This idea that individuals creation of wealth is somehow seperate from society is nonsense. Weath creation can only take place within society and is dependent on that society. I can see why some people might not want to pay their way and help maintain the social and physical infrastructure that makes a society, but let’s not pretend that this is morally OK even if it is legal. Whether it’s legal or not is beside the point anyway because what we are discussing is what the law should be.
Georges
Now you present another untruth. Income and wealth distribution has a massive impact upon perceptions of well-being. In that case, those abusing legal systems do not just undermine the rule of law, democratic principles, and the concept of society (which I know you will deny exists, but which every reasonable person knows to be a reality) and as such their actions deprive people of something absolutely fundamental, which is their concept of equity. That is what you are seeking to undermine.
Richard