Tag Archives: Switzerland

How Bitcoin Is Blossoming in Germany

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“‘In our neighborhood there are a few dozens of bitcoin-accepting businesses by now and a bitcoin-based economic cycle starts to develop,’ says Joerg Platzer, owner of Room77 and principal of the Crypto Economics Consulting Group in Berlin. ‘I do not have to change the bitcoins we take in back into euro. I can pay my beer supplier, my printer and other goods and services with it already. We call it our ‘alternative local currency with global reach.”  In Switzerland, Matonis says Bitcoin is being considered for a three-digit ISO currency code (XBT)—a code that most online currency conversion tools already utilize.”

http://www.paymentssource.com/news/how-bitcoin-is-blossoming-in-germany-3015408-1.html?zkPrintable=1&nopagination=1

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Switzerland among top three ‘happiest countries’

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“Switzerland finishes ahead of fifth-ranked Netherlands, Sweden, Canada, Finland, Austria, Iceland and Australia.  The United States ranks 17th, while the UK is 22nd.   Swiss neighbour France is in 25th place,  just ahead of Germany.  Sub-Saharan African countries come last in the rankings.  Six key factors also help determine the rankings, including real GDP per capita, healthy life expectancy, having someone to count on, perceived freedom to make life choices, freedom from corruption and generosity.  Switzerland’s high ranking comes after a report from the World Economic Forum named the country the most competitive in the world for the fifth year in a row.”

http://www.thelocal.ch/20130909/switzerland-among-top-three-happiest-countries-report

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Why I renounced US citizenship

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“I flew to Switzerland and was hired by two large international firms at the same time within a few weeks, both offering double the pay and with better benefits.  I had to choose.  Months later, my spouse joined me there.  11 years later, I learned that Swiss banks were rejecting little people simply because they had US citizenship and as a result of US policy.  It was clear that the US citizenship had to go.  Overall, I find that the American job market is often trigger-happy, overreacting to strongly to non-issues.   In Switzerland, I’m trusted, my skills and motivation are respected and appreciated and my minor human errors are forgiven.  To anyone thinking about working in America: think again.”

http://isaacbrocksociety.ca/2013/09/10/why-i-renounced-us-citizenship/

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FATCA Hassles: Feds Cracking Down on Overseas Tax Evasion

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“Switzerland, which has strict privacy laws protecting customers’ confidential financial information, has effectively declared American citizens personae non gratae as far as their banks are concerned. Banks are shuttering accounts, refusing mortgages and refinances, and refusing to open accounts for Americans living abroad.  The rules create an incentive for foreign employers to cease investing in America, avoid hiring Americans, or both. And in some cases, Americans have been refused employment or promotions at foreign companies because the job description requires them to be signatories on the company’s account.”

http://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/investing/2013/feds-cracking-overseas-tax-evasion/

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Bern’s backing of FATCA ‘hits financial sector’

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“Walter Boss, a tax lawyer with Poledna Boss Kurer AG in Zurich, said uncertainty was ‘one of the worst enemies in the financial world.’  But more clarity could come at a steep price, even for banks that maintain they have done nothing wrong.  Forced to cough up US client records, they are basically being ‘deemed guilty until proven innocent,’ Boss said.  Hornung was even more critical.  ‘It’s not really an agreement, but more of a dictate from the United States,’ he said.  And after suffering the onslaught from Washington, the biggest danger could lie ahead if European tax authorities decide to take the same route as their American counterparts, Hornung warned.”

http://www.thelocal.ch/20130910/swiss-backing-of-fatca-devastates-finance-sector

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Swiss MPs endorse US tax compliance deal

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“FATCA only addresses current and future accounts held by Americans, but Bern also recently agreed to a controversial deal focused on making amends for past wrongdoings by the banks.  That deal offers individual Swiss banks the opportunity to avoid US prosecution if they agree to pay ‘substantial fines’, and provide details on US citizens’ accounts, including the sources and destinations of funds transferred to and from the accounts.  The agreement, which is expected to erode Swiss bank secrecy laws, has come under widespread criticism, tempered by recognition that without a deal the country’s all-important financial sector could lose access to the US market.”

http://www.thelocal.ch/20130909/swiss-mps-endorse-us-tax-compliance-deal

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Germans Hide Cash in Diapers as Swiss Secrecy Crumbles

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“With Swiss banks the target of an international crackdown against tax evasion, Germans who avoided taxes by keeping money in Switzerland are bringing wads of cash home and hiding it in odd places.  The customs districts bordering Switzerland turned up 20 million euros of undeclared cash last year. In the Bavarian border town of Lindau, where officers once caught a man with 25,000 euros stuffed inside a gingerbread house, 2 million euros of undeclared bills were discovered last year. German border agents also hunt for stacks of papers that point to secret accounts. ‘To hold a binder with lots of bank statements, that’s quite a good feeling,’ said Georg Kruegers, a German customs officer.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-09-03/germans-hide-cash-in-diapers-as-swiss-secrecy-crumbles.html

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USA Is #5 in World Economic Competition

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“The World Economic Council in Davos, Switzerland has released its list of nations’ ranking in terms of competitiveness. As always, Switzerland is on top. That’s what peace can do for a nation. Also limited central government, respect for property rights, and low crime. Here are the top nations.  At the bottom, also as always, are mostly African tribal units that are euphemistically called nations.”

http://teapartyeconomist.com/2013/09/04/usa-5-world-economic-competition/

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Swiss banks to divulge names of US account holders, pay billions in fines

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“About a hundred Swiss banks will avoid prosecution by divulging the names of US clients who have allegedly avoided tax by using secret accounts. The banks could face fines of up to 50 percent of the asset value if they provide full disclosure.  Under the deal, each bank will set its own non-prosecution or deferred-prosecution agreement with the US authorities.  The fines are set to reach up to 50 percent of the aggregate value of any undeclared accounts held by wealthy Americans, depending on the time the accounts were opened. Swiss banks will have to assess the cost of potential penalties versus the risk of US prosecution.”

http://rt.com/business/swiss-banks-disclose-assets-196/

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Saudi princess snaps up luxurious Geneva estate for $62 million

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“Princess Latifa Bin Fahd bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, who is 54 and a daughter of former king Fahd, bought the 18,800-square-metre (202,362-square-foot) estate from the wealthy Nordmann family that co-owns upscale department store chain Manor and the maker of Lacoste clothing.  The purchase price for the property is the second-highest on record in the city.  The villa on the estate, known as Hauterive, is protected along with other properties overlooking Lake Geneva.  Al Saud joins a number of other Saudi royals who already live in luxurious settings in the canton of Geneva.”

http://www.thelocal.ch/20130902/saudi-princess-snaps-up-geneva-estate

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