Switzerland seems to never give up in its pursuit of abuse - and in its ability to deliver misinformation.

Swissinfo has reported:

Switzerland has proposed it impose a final tax at the source on money held by US citizens in Swiss banks, according to Finance Minister Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf.

So the Swiss are offering the US the same grubby little arrangement they have offered to the UK, and which we have been daft enough to accept.

What's wrong with it? Well let's try this:

a) The names of the epople involved aren't know, so tax evasion is encouraged.

b) The capital remains wholly hidden from vuew - and if it was accumnulated due to tax evasiuon, that will always remain the case. That exonaterates past crimes.

c) It outsources tax collection to a country dedicated to promoting tax crime, becasue that's what Switaerland is. If it wasn't it wouldn't be promoting this arrangemnt.

My only encouragement is that the same report says:

Widmer-Schlumpf said negotiations with the US for a tax at the source had not yet begun.

Let's hope the US has the sense to tell the Swiss what they can do with this offer. The suitable respone is short, direct and and decidedly unambiguous.

So why didn't the UK deliver it?

Should we conclude the UK isn't interested in collecting tax from those really rather 'nice' evaders who use Switzerland and would rather concentrate on he likes of gas fitters - it's current focus of attention. It certainly looks that way. Who said the class system was dead?