Posts Tagged ‘Switzerland’

Swiss Banker Goes Rogue, Calls Out 2,000 Alleged Tax Evaders Through WikiLeaks

Friday, January 21st, 2011

“LONDON — A former senior Swiss bank executive said on Monday that he had given the WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange, details of more than 2,000 prominent individuals and companies that he contends engaged in tax evasion and other possible criminal activity… ‘The man in the street needs to know how this system works,’ he said, referring to the offshore trusts that many ‘high net worth individuals’ around the world use to evade taxes.”

What do you think?

Is public humiliation an appropriate way to deal with tax evaders? Do you think people should have a right to absolute financial privacy, even if that helps them get away with illegal activities?

Global Changemakers TV: Namibia And Switzerland

Tuesday, August 18th, 2009

A group of young people around the world is taking action and being supported by a global network called the “Global Changemakers.” This is an interesting glimpse into the type of thing these kids are up to.

“We dream and work to transform apathy into activism.

By documenting the lives of people living in vulnerability and inequality, we want to educate and inspire young people to project their ideas in one voice to solve these problems.

By making a TV program using international characters, we seek to create the opportunity for young people to be part of a global movement.

The editing team works with audio and video sent by activists from the Global Changemakers network to produce powerful stories of activism in different regions of the planet and disseminates these stories to inspire young people from other regions.”

>>TILE brings you exclusive interviews from people doing great things in SPEND, GROW, and GIVE. To view more, click on TILEcasts in the TILE Library.

Have a burning question or someone you’d like to see interviewed? Let us know – just Ask TILE!

Why do people have bank accounts in Switzerland?

Wednesday, June 10th, 2009

Swiss bank accounts are world-renowned for their security, but it’s a different kind of security than what you’d see in a heist movie. The protection that applies here has nothing to do with maximum-security vaults and armed guards giving body checks; it’s about the unique privacy provided by Swiss banking law.

Most of the perks of having a Swiss bank account come from the fact that, under Swiss law, no banker can reveal anything about your account (including its existence) to anyone else without your permission. Any banker who violates this agreement is prosecuted by the state and can face fines and jail time. So once you put money in a Swiss bank account, the only people who know that money even exists are you and your banker.

Why is this anonymity so desirable? Some people just want privacy and believe that their financial situation is their own business. Others, however, try to hide their financial information from the government to avoid higher taxes. This is called tax evasion and it’s illegal. When the government tries to figure out how much money to tax you, it first needs to know how much you have. Generally, the more you have, the more taxes you pay. When the government can’t see the money you have in a Swiss bank account, they can’t include it when they calculate your taxes and you end up getting taxed for less than you’re actually worth.

Swiss banks are so popular – and so notorious – not for their physical security systems, but for the anonymity they provide to their clients. Just remember, if you live in a country like the U.S., you need to report how much money you have in a Swiss bank account to avoid getting in trouble.