Who would have thought that the taxation of savings would have captured the public's interest to such an extent? Day after day this topic has hit the headlines and given rise to heated debates. The reason is that it lies at the heart of negotiations between the EU and Switzerland on the question of banking privacy.
November
Banking secrecy: a federal or cantonal matter?, SPBA (PDF - 12 Ko) Are the Swiss cantons reduced to the role of passive observers in the debate that is currently raging over banking secrecy?
Switzerland is faced with a choice between the tradition of bank secrecy and cooperation with EU tax authorities' demands for transparency. There is a strong link between financial privacy and capital formation in Swizterland and the world economy as a whole. Further information available at : www.starkeschweiz.ch
October
More and more..., Pierre Mirabaud, Managing Partner, Mirabaud & Cie, Private Bankers and President of the Geneva Private Bankers (PDF - 12 Ko)
"More and more", seemed to be the motto of these managers who led their companies to ruin and are, today, summoned before the law to answer for their acts.
The Federal Banking Commission has just submitted for consultation a draft ordinance on money laundering which will appreciably increase the responsibilities of banks and other financial intermediaries regarding the identification and monitoring of their clients.
In the bilateral relationships between Switzerland and the EU, it is time for intimidation manoeuvres. Having forced three small countries to subscribe to their views regarding the automatic exchange of tax information, the big EU member states are now attacking Switzerland.
