Swiss To Punish US?
Feb 22, 2009 Political
The right-wing Swiss People’s Party (SVP) wants to punish the US for the pressure it put on the country’s biggest bank, UBS, resulting in the release of thousands of names of American clients who are hiding their money to avoid taxes. The SVP wants the country to refuse residents of Gitmo, something it has stated it might be willing to help with. The party also wants Switzerland to reconsider representing the US in countries where it has no diplomatic representation.
I can understand the party’s position but the reality is UBS was helping Americans break the tax laws. As far as what Switzerland does, that is their business.
What I want to know is who is on that list. I want to see the list of tax cheats made public so the rest of us who have been footing the bills can see who has been avoiding what the rest of us are forced to comply with. I think that if any elected officials are on that list then they must resign their positions immediately.
People on that list must also be forced to pay taxes with interest and penalties. They cannot get a Rangel, Daschle or Geithner deal where they only have to pay the taxes owed.
The government worked hard to get the names. The names cannot be hushed up. They must be made public.
Source:
al Reuters
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Tags: bank, svp, swiss, tax cheats, ubs
Shut Down Banking Giant UBS?
Jul 17, 2008 Political
Senator Carl Levin wants to revoke the license of UBS, one of the world’s largest banks because they have been doing some naughty things. The bank has been shielding the money of rich Americans from the IRS thus helping them to avoid taxes.
“They wanted secrecy. UBS gave them secrecy,” Levin said.
Levin revealed a list of “secrecy tricks” he said the UBS bankers used to carry out their tax haven schemes.
The list includes code names for clients, using untraceable pay phones, encrypted computers, fake trusts, counter-surveillance training, and shredding files. (Complete List)
Levin said UBS hid behind Swiss bank secrecy laws to hide its misconduct, and offered services in the US it was not licensed to provide. ABC News
Maybe I am mistaken but aren’t Democrats the ones who get so upset about invasion of privacy? The Democrats are the ones who cry about warrantless wiretaps and other methods of surveillance so why should they be upset that the Swiss have methods in place to ensure that privacy is upheld and people are not spied upon?
I mean, does Levin want us to believe that rich people have fewer rights than the terrorists who are trying to kill us?
Perhaps they should be trying to figure out why all the rich folks are hiding their money. Of course it is to avoid paying taxes on it. Who can blame them when Democrats keep trying to tax the rich out of existence? Every other word out of a Democrat’s mouth involves taxing the rich so those folks want to protect their money.
If they broke the law then find out who they are and prosecute them for tax evasion. However, if they are going to take that tact they need to ensure they go after every person on the list regardless of who it is. If some wealthy politician has been hiding money there or some lefty movie star then those people need to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
As for the bank, if they broke no laws then they should be left alone. If they broke an agreement or law then do something about it but the IRS needs to go after every person on the list.
I have a better idea for Levin. Learn these secrecy tips and apply them to our government. Then maybe the New York Times won’t keep getting our secrets and giving them to the enemy.
I hope that list has all the liberals who tell us we don’t pay enough in taxes. Man that would be priceless…
Tags: carl levin, hiding money, irs, taxes, ubs