“Everything works just fine”
It definitely worked great for a lot of dictators, tax cheats and the sort… I think Switzerland is a great example of why complete privacy isn’t fair on ordinary taxpayers - it allows the ultra-rich to hide what they owe
It definitely worked great for a lot of dictators, tax cheats and the sort… I think Switzerland is a great example of why complete privacy isn’t fair on ordinary taxpayers - it allows the ultra-rich to hide what they owe
The ironic thing is that one of those new hot spots, in addition to the usual suspects like Cyprus, the Caribbean, etc., is the USA. See https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/interactive/2021/wyo... for some juicy details.
Of course, privacy enabled the bankers to do shady things, but this wasn't the initial motivation. Swiss people value their privacy overall.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/nov/14/the-great-amer...
> A South Dakotan trust changes all that: it protects assets from claims from ex-spouses, disgruntled business partners, creditors, litigious clients and pretty much anyone else. It won’t protect you from criminal prosecution, but it does prevent information on your assets from leaking out in a way that might spark interest from the police. And it shields your wealth from the government, since South Dakota has no income tax, no inheritance tax and no capital gains tax.
That said, yes, dictators and such were - and are - a problem. They aren't going to prosecute themselves, after all.
By the way, one of the top places unsavory types stash their cash is the US. FATCA is a one way street: US banks don't provide information on their international customers.
The problem was - and this rightfully pissed off a lot of countries - that Switzerland makes a distinction between tax evasion (you "forget" to mention those 5'000 franks extra income) and tax fraud, where you actually cook the books.
Tax evasion is not considered a crime and if you're caught you get fined and pay back taxes. Tax fraud is a crime and may land you ion jail.
So, in case of simple tax evasion a third country may not get the information requested since this is not a crime in both countries, which is a requirement for this.
With the automatic information exchange with other countries Switzerland is no more a prime destination to hide your illicit gains.