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Posted on 02/13/2012 6:19:00 AM PST by SeekAndFind
Switzerland is in the unfortunate position of being bullied and harassed by the U.S. government. The crux of the problem is that the United States arguably has the world's worst tax system for international activity, and this creates conflict with other nations, particularly ones that have good tax laws that attract investment.
This has resulted in a number of different attacks against Swiss sovereignty. On the multilateral front, the Obama Administration is actively supporting the anti-tax competition project of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
On the unilateral front, the United States is imposing onerous laws on the entire world, such as the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), which seeks to coerce foreign financial institutions into acting as deputies for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS. And on the bilateral front, the American government has initiated actions that specifically target Switzerland, such as legal attacks on individual institutions and pressure for tax agreements that would violate long-standing human rights laws protecting individual privacy.
The challenge for Switzerland is that the United States is the most powerful nation in the world, and the U.S. government has decided to treat its "Sister Republic" almost as if it was some sort of pariah regime.
What makes this situation particularly frustrating is that it is entirely the result of bad American policy.
* America has pervasive double taxation of saving and investment and an imperialistic worldwide tax system, and those bad policies motivate the multilateral, unilateral, and bilateral assaults.
* America is in terrible fiscal shape thanks to overspending by both Presidents Bush and Obama, creating an environment where the IRS has free rein to be extra aggressive in the search for more revenue.
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Marc Rich’s complaint.
The other problem is that the U.S. Federal Government is as tyrranical abroad as it is as home, and it's getting worse. Much worse.
I hope Switzerland wins. Bullying is just wrong. We can be a great financial nation without acting like a thug.
Marc Rich did more to cheat the USA and the world, than simply earning money abroad and not wanting to be taxed twice for it.
HINT: Not everyone is Marc Rich.
I posted this before, but I discovered that if you are a German working in America, your salary in America is NOT TAXED in Germany. On the other hand, if you are an American working in Germany, what you earn in Germany is taxed IN GERMANY *AND* IN AMERICA.
I also know of several smart foreign engineers who have green cards. BEFORE coming to America, they made money back home ( be it Taiwan, South Korea or India ) and invested their money back home BEFORE coming to America to work.
In other words, the money was made in India, Taiwan and Korea BEFORE they came here. They invested in property BEFORE coming here and receive income from rent that are deposited in their bank accounts back home.
Now, they realize that simply by virtue of receiving a green card ( being permanent residents in the USA ) working for such companies as INTEL, Oracle or Hewlett Packard, the income they derived from their investments back home ( MONEY THAT NEVER ENTERED THE USA AND WAS MADE BEFORE THEY CAME HERE ) is now being CLAIMED by the IRS.
Is that fair? Is that just? Are we a free country compared to Germany, Taiwan or South Korea in this case?
The Obama Administration is to be blamed for all this, but so is the Bush Administration.
This is for all who haven't awakened to the realization that George W. Bush was one of the worst Presidents in U.S. history--down there just above Bill Clinton and the even worse Jimmy Carter.
RE: The other problem is that the U.S. Federal Government is as tyrranical abroad as it is as home, and it’s getting worse. Much worse.
________________________
So, why do Americans continue to vote in politicians who make our tax laws complicated, onerous, burdensome and tyrannical?
In a sense, we deserve the government we get.
RE: I hope Switzerland wins.
The Swiss have already lost. They have CAPITULATED and agreed to allow their giant bank, UBS to REVEAL the Swiss bank accounts of 4,000 depositors.
Why did they capitulate? Simple, America THREATENED their big banks (e.g., UBS and Credit Suise) with onerous retaliation. These banks had to comply if they still want to do business in America ( still the biggest financial market in the world ).
To make a long story short - SWITZERLAND IS NO LONGER THE SECRET, SECURE SAFE HAVEN IT USED TO BE.
This is one of Obama’s singular accomplishments...
Talk about American Imperialism, this takes the cake.
You got that right!
It is the fault of the American people--those who voted these reckless, prodigal, greedy, parasitic politicians into office--let them stay there--and let them destroy the U.S. economy and everything else that our forefathers fought and died for!
People generally get what they deserve--including the government that they deserve.
The American people voted for it--tolerated it--and will be destroyed by it--and it's nobody's fault but their own.
Above all, the Swiss are pragmatic.
Marc Rich’s complaint.
Through the good fortune of having a whore shill in DOJ, Mr. Holder.
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