June 29, 2009 9:32 AM

Swiss Banks To Yanks: Get Lost

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(AP Photo/Walter Bieri, Keystone)

The Internal Revenue Services intensified hunt for tax evaders overseas has caused Switzerland's two biggest banks to say goodbye to its American customers.

UBS AG and Credit Suisse Group AG have given Americans a choice: move your money to special accounts they have created in the U.S. or lose the account, Bloomberg reports.

"American citizens are starting to feel like they’re Typhoid Mary," Charles C. Adams, managing partner at the law firm Hogan & Hartson LLP in Geneva, told Bloomberg. "The Swiss simply don’t want American customers because it requires so much infrastructure and hassle that they don’t make any money."

Click here to read the entire Bloomberg article.

Tags:: irs ,; tax ,; evasion ,; swiss ,; ubs ,; credit suisse

Topics:: Banking

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by antoniof123 July 7, 2009 4:26 PM EDT: Let me see the love of money is the root of evil.

Greed just what they lovers of money ordered.; Reply to this comment


by GiveMeFreedom July 7, 2009 2:11 PM EDT: Hilarious story. I cannot wait for the rest of the world to do what needed to be done long ago, tell the U.S. to stick it up its you know what. All of you liberals who have ruined our country with your stupid rules and idiotic lawsuits. Guess what? The rest of the world is laughing at us. I give MSFT 2-4 years before they move their company offshore too. No one other than Wal Mart will be able to do business in the U.S. soon.; Reply to this comment

by riddelup July 2, 2009 9:14 PM EDT

These are probably the same institutions who were complicit with the Nazi during WWII.

Reply to this comment


by Sloughfoot July 3, 2009 11:55 AM EDT: Think you might have something there. Plying all sides against the middle while sitting on the sidelines a counting their six-pence.


by Justicia2 July 2, 2009 4:09 PM EDT: What about european with green card residing in this country and using foreign banks to hide assets???? Some individuals have had green cards for years and refuse to become american so that they can continue their games...; Reply to this comment

by arkieguy July 1, 2009 3:34 PM EDT

I think that Switzerland needs us much more that we need them. I am sick and tired of countries just daring us to protect our interests. If the Swiss insists that they are going to keep on helping our citizens steal from us by being uncooperative in hiding money that should have been taxed, let's take some action that they understand, like bringing our ambassador home.

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by GiveMeFreedom July 3, 2009 10:44 AM EDT: I do not really think Switzerland cares about the U.S. anymore and they do NOT need us either. The U.S. is around 5% of the world's population. Someday we may just wake up to realize the world has left us in the dust. The Swiss get plenty of money from the remaining 95% of the world population countries and really do not need the U.S. at all in my opinion.

Why did several Beatles and Shania Twain live in Switzerland - I am sure it was to be close to family right? Hmmm. Maybe taxes!

by tautomer June 30, 2009 10:09 PM EDT

This is the perfect rejoinder to the Obama Administration's arrogance.

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by ibsteve2u July 2, 2009 4:18 PM EDT: Is it arrogance to ask your neighbor stop hiding the thief who stole from you in his house?


by tautomer July 3, 2009 1:18 AM EDT: No it is arrogance to think that you can go into another country and dictate a change in the way they've done business for 500 yrs. What Obama is trying to do is the equivalent of stopping and searching every car on a highway whether there is probable cause or not.

In cases where there is substantial evidence of fraud the Swiss have raised the veil many times. Obama is not coming to them with specific cause, in his arrogance he is saying, "I want to see it all". Even though he's the Messiah,he's got to show probable cause, sorry.


by the74blaster July 7, 2009 8:22 AM EDT: Probably cause? Cosidering the size of the public debt and the after effects of the derivatives, it is obvious we cannot continue business as ussual.

What the government should do is use a little aggressive interogation to find all the Americans using these Swiss banks to rip us off and throw them in Gitmo. Use a little waterboarding (accordig to the GOP this is ot torture) to find out the specifics and take it to everyone who has been using tax shelters to rip off America.

Since Gitmo is offshore there is te possibility that we could even grant most favored nation trading status to Cuba so we can expand the facilities at Gitmo to house all of these dead beats.


by wilbursandersjr June 30, 2009 2:15 PM EDT: That has to be the stupidest comment on this page.
by interval1066 June 30, 2009

Einstein, if UBS is helping Americans hide money, then they are hiding money, maybe not their own, but hiding money nonetheless. I will say it again for you as you apparently need things said slowly. Since they are allegedly helping Amercians hide their money, they are in fact hiding money. Got it now. Hope so. By the way, your little Black Bart speech was shows your IQ at about, umm, 60.; Reply to this comment

by wilbursandersjr June 30, 2009 1:28 PM EDT

We need stop UBS and others from hiding money to avoid taxes.

Obama needs to quit blaming Bush.

Whitemale08 needs Psychotherapeutic Counseling for his conspiracy theories. I am beginning to think thatthe Mel Gibson charachter in "Conspiracy Theory" was based on Whitemale08.

Reply to this comment


by interval1066 June 30, 2009 2:08 PM EDT: "We need stop UBS and others from hiding money to avoid taxes."

That has to be the stupidest comment on this page. UBS Suisse is not beholden to the United States, and can do whatever it wants with ITS money. The problem is US Citizens hiding their money in Swiss Banks to avoid taxes. Say what you mean, mean what you say, don't be foolish.

I will however agree with your second statement.


by whitemale08 July 1, 2009 4:16 PM EDT: You need to wear a plastic wrapper around your head for being a sucker.

George Soros said: "The greatest conspiracy is the one that's out in the open",

you choose to ignore the fact a greedy cult of financial olgarchy are 'conspiring' in whatever way they can to keep their loot and you as a dumb downed serf.


by whitemale08 June 30, 2009 11:39 AM EDT: Instead of the United States insisting that UBS be shut down to protect the world's population against their trilliions in gambling bets or worthless derivataves, Bush/Obama/Bernanke bails them out @AIG.

Why people cannot catch the correlation between bailouts and absolutely worthless derivatives and credit-default swaps is simply amazing to me.

Go to Bloomberg.com headline about AIG again saying that more derivates are going bad and that their 'counter-parties' are will be hurt by it unless we bail them out some more....IT'S INSANE FOLKS!

What's it going to take to CALL CONGRESS AND DEMAND THAT AIG, GOLDMAN SUCKS, JP MORGAN GO INTO RECEIVERSHIP AND BANKRUPTCY RE-ORGANIZATION?

FOLKS WE MUST CALL CONGRESS NOW!!!!!! AND SAY 'NO MORE BAILOUTS!'; Reply to this comment


by sjc_1 June 29, 2009 5:06 PM EDT: It is and has been my impression that the Swiss will look the other way, if you have enough money. Now when the heat is on they turn on these people as if they never heard of them.; Reply to this comment

by apple2pie June 29, 2009 1:43 PM EDT

Swiss Banks can't make money my tail. They don't want people nosing around in their practices ...Hummm ..I wonder why that might be the case??? Why don't they just put out a sign "Money Laundering Done Here."

Reply to this comment


by Sloughfoot July 3, 2009 11:39 AM EDT: I do believe you're on the right track. Swiss banks have been laundering monies forever. That Hitler and his Gang of Thieves allowed the country to exist at all speaks highly of the Swiss Banking institute's ability to sleep in the gutter.

by ianlou June 29, 2009 12:29 PM EDT

The Internal Revenue Service got what they wanted.
If American's are kicked out of Swiss banks, they will need
to find some off shore island account to hide their money in.

Go IRS, get all Americans kicked out of all banks that allow Americans to avoid American Taxes.

Let Leona Helmsley roll in her grave.

Reply to this comment


by GiveMeFreedom July 3, 2009 10:40 AM EDT: I want to make sure I understand your comment. It is the banks fault that people do not report their income from these overseas accounts, right? Of course you should never hold the person with the account responsible should you?

by John_Merritt June 29, 2009 12:11 PM EDT

When things start crashing down around you, as in the case of Credit Suisse and UBS, by the scrutiny imposed by others; you want to alleviate anything futher if possible. Those two banks have enough to worry about because of any alleged involvement in this financial crisis. Their stance is understandable, but the lesson for us when times get tough, do the tough get going; or do the friends that we had, turn and run? Know who you can depend on when you need something, when the times are good and when they turn on you.

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by whitemale08 June 30, 2009 11:32 AM EDT: What a naive and dumb comment. It shows you don't know who the enemy is.

UBS is one the Swiss casino houses that made up the world wide implosion of 1.4 quadrillion in worthless derivatives and credit-default swaps to absolutely bankrupt the planet through impossible bailouts.

The U.S. 'regulation' being imposed after-the-fact is a knee-jerk reaction that the financial oligarchy was counting on to kick the United States to the curb after the looting.

And look...it's working!

Naive idiots like yourself think it's only 'natural' for UBS to not want to deal with the 'hassle' of American customers.

Until you fully understand and appreciate that there is an ENEMY called the Anglo-Dutch Empire of private-financial-interests, you will make ingnorant comments like this and further the consensus that this economic crisis is just a typical 'business cycle'; IT'S NOT!

UBS, Goldman Sucks, JP Morgan and others are out to take-over the world and put it in their control under a fuedal system called Global Warming.

It's people like you that are stopping the rest of us who are awake from stopping these banksters and criminals!


by ToolMangler1 July 1, 2009 4:22 PM EDT: by whitemale08 June 30, 2009 8:32 AM PDT
What a naive and dumb comment. It shows you don't know who the enemy is...

So you seem to be saying that we should pull in our horns, Kowtow to the Swiss Banks and 'suck hind titty'????? Wow!!!!


by whitemale08 July 1, 2009 5:57 PM EDT: you obviously didn't read all of my comment...

I said: "UBS, JP Morgan, Goldman Sucks have to be shut down immediately"


by Kuei1248 July 2, 2009 10:12 PM EDT: KUDOS whitemale08
You hit that nail on the head with a sledgehammer.

by Ichabod09 June 29, 2009 11:07 AM EDT

If the Swiss want to treat Americans as if their money is no good-wait a minute our money is no good. Slick move on the Swiss-love their cheese.

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by docpeter1953 July 2, 2009 8:19 AM EDT: Their hot chocolate is good also.


by PLANO-TX July 2, 2009 6:45 PM EDT: Please do not spill the hot chocolate (burn possibilities) and
P L E A S E do not cut the cheese ..... (you might hurt yourself with
the knife)