6 ms·

Internationally wise, it's not. We have a long history of doing whatever other big countries ask us to do. Especially when the request comes from the United Sta

by fla 11y ago

Internationally wise, it's not. We have a long history of doing whatever other big countries ask us to do. Especially when the request comes from the United States. (I'm Swiss as well) Switzerland has been hosting Onyx [1] for fiteen years now ;) [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onyx_(interception_system) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onyx_(interception_system) Edit: typo

iheartmemcache 11y ago
Post-2008 (i.e., the final turning point re: the IRS was when the former UBS employee spilled his beans, but I'd be willing to bet Swiss cooperation post 9-11 just by some heavy-handed Homeland Security Agents in poorly tailored suits storming in discourteously) even grandfathered numbered accounts have no security in them for foreign nationals. As I understand it, if you're an MNC you transfer price and lodge your funds in the most tax-friendly domicile (Ireland) and retain those earnings without any remittance. For US nationals, the best way to engage in tax avoidance is to play a game of seashells in the Seychelles (oh god I'm sorry for the pun) with shelf-companies and auxiliary signatories, and keep on routing around until you eventually land up in HK. The only thing a US citizen gain from a Swiss bank account from is protection domestic civil litigation, i.e., divorce claims. Swiss nationals, as I understand it, still retain their anonymity but who really knows. Fun fact: It's not the Caymans, Switzerland, or HK that is the largest tax shelter in the world - it's the US banking system.
- repomies69 11y ago
  I've heard that for nationals outside US, US is very good place to store your wealth. Because they give zero information outside. However practically all financial institutions outside US are very dependant on US finance infrastructure. That means they will comply hard with US data requests, which means that US citizens outside US have hard time hiding their assets.

by fla 11y ago

iheartmemcache 11y ago

Post-2008 (i.e., the final turning point re: the IRS was when the former UBS employee spilled his beans, but I'd be willing to bet Swiss cooperation post 9-11 just by some heavy-handed Homeland Security Agents in poorly tailored suits storming in discourteously) even grandfathered numbered accounts have no security in them for foreign nationals. As I understand it, if you're an MNC you transfer price and lodge your funds in the most tax-friendly domicile (Ireland) and retain those earnings without any remittance. For US nationals, the best way to engage in tax avoidance is to play a game of seashells in the Seychelles (oh god I'm sorry for the pun) with shelf-companies and auxiliary signatories, and keep on routing around until you eventually land up in HK. The only thing a US citizen gain from a Swiss bank account from is protection domestic civil litigation, i.e., divorce claims. Swiss nationals, as I understand it, still retain their anonymity but who really knows. Fun fact: It's not the Caymans, Switzerland, or HK that is the largest tax shelter in the world - it's the US banking system.

repomies69 11y ago
I've heard that for nationals outside US, US is very good place to store your wealth. Because they give zero information outside. However practically all financial institutions outside US are very dependant on US finance infrastructure. That means they will comply hard with US data requests, which means that US citizens outside US have hard time hiding their assets.