Comments on: The Swiss Banking Business Model Faces Realignment http://lawiscool.com/2009/07/10/the-swiss-banking-business-model-faces-realignment/?nucrss=1 The law school blog and podcast from Canada Wed, 08 Feb 2012 00:00:08 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Robert http://lawiscool.com/2009/07/10/the-swiss-banking-business-model-faces-realignment/comment-page-1/#comment-5837 Robert Fri, 10 Jul 2009 16:32:27 +0000 http://lawiscool.com/?p=1752#comment-5837 Some good thoughts in this article, but unfortunately primarily based on James Bond and other Hollywood fiction. Swiss banking is based on individual's privacy, that is true, but there is no such thing as secret number accounts and there isn't any Don't ask/Don't tell mentality either. That's pure fiction. In fact, for over a decade now Switzerland has the most rigid laws against money laundry and related crimes WORLDWIDE and is also actively reimbursing ill-gotten money. A quick Google search will confirm these facts. Now compare this to some States in the US (e.g. Delaware, Florida) that are true tax havens, and you will see that the current campaign against the so-called tax heaven Switzerland is in fact an attempt by the IRS to export their tax laws without having to clean up at home, for whatever reasons. That said, I agree that a business model based on secrecy is probably not the best, but if you think about it and consider all the rules that are in place in Switzerland to avoid abuse, it really is more about privacy of individuals than protecting cheats, unlike in many other places, including all the no questions asked anonymous firms and companies in Delaware or the funds in Miami. Denying that is just pure hypocrisy, nothing else. Rob Some good thoughts in this article, but unfortunately primarily based on James Bond and other Hollywood fiction. Swiss banking is based on individual’s privacy, that is true, but there is no such thing as secret number accounts and there isn’t any Don’t ask/Don’t tell mentality either. That’s pure fiction. In fact, for over a decade now Switzerland has the most rigid laws against money laundry and related crimes WORLDWIDE and is also actively reimbursing ill-gotten money. A quick Google search will confirm these facts. Now compare this to some States in the US (e.g. Delaware, Florida) that are true tax havens, and you will see that the current campaign against the so-called tax heaven Switzerland is in fact an attempt by the IRS to export their tax laws without having to clean up at home, for whatever reasons.
That said, I agree that a business model based on secrecy is probably not the best, but if you think about it and consider all the rules that are in place in Switzerland to avoid abuse, it really is more about privacy of individuals than protecting cheats, unlike in many other places, including all the no questions asked anonymous firms and companies in Delaware or the funds in Miami. Denying that is just pure hypocrisy, nothing else.

Rob

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