Good Morning Gentle Readers,
In February the US Justice Department obtained a court order demanding the identities of Americans holding Swiss accounts with banking giant UBS. Harry Browne anticipated something like this would eventually arise and three decades ago he advised Americans to avoid doing business with American branches of Swiss banks, preferring to work with Swiss banks located in Switzerland (or by mail).
Unlike the United States, which has very little financial privacy, under Swiss law banking privacy is sacrosanct. Yesterday the Swiss government stepped into the fray by filing papers in federal court insisting that the US court order would force UBS to violate Swiss law. Going further, the Swiss government said it would take possession of the financial data to prevent it's disclosure to US tax authorities and the Obama Justice Department.
In February the US Justice Department obtained a court order demanding the identities of Americans holding Swiss accounts with banking giant UBS. Harry Browne anticipated something like this would eventually arise and three decades ago he advised Americans to avoid doing business with American branches of Swiss banks, preferring to work with Swiss banks located in Switzerland (or by mail).
Unlike the United States, which has very little financial privacy, under Swiss law banking privacy is sacrosanct. Yesterday the Swiss government stepped into the fray by filing papers in federal court insisting that the US court order would force UBS to violate Swiss law. Going further, the Swiss government said it would take possession of the financial data to prevent it's disclosure to US tax authorities and the Obama Justice Department.
The Swiss government will use its legal authority to
ensure that the bank cannot be pressured to transmit the
information illegally, including if necessary by issuing an
order taking effective control of the data at UBS that is the
subject of the summons, according to the filing.
Under the guise of crime fighting and tax collection, using RICO, Currency Transaction Reporting, and warrantless IRS seizures (to name a few) the US has shredded any measurable financial privacy that rightly should exist and be protected under the Fourth & Fifth Amendments. That should be the focus of our ire not the fact that a few rich guys parked some money in Switzerland without paying taxes on it.
Remind me again, please. When was the last time you heard about a Currency Transaction Report bringing down a money laundering racket. More likely it gets Joe Sixer audited for withdrawing some cash to buy that '57 Chevy he's lusted for since high school.
Whole story here.
As Ever,
TWC
