Many investors that have put their money in Switzerland are worried and do not know what to do and where to go now especially in the context of Switzerland attempt at “white money strategy”.The latest brain storming of Swiss authorities resulted in Switzerland’s Finance Minister Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf putting forward the idea of compelling Swiss banks to obtain in future a declaration from their foreign clients confirming that their assets held in the Confederation are correctly taxed.
What will happen next?
Nice try but it looks a bit like a CYA letter to me and I don’t think that countries like USA and Germany will be very taken by the idea. So the problem remains.
Of course Swiss banks would in addition to obtain the self-declaration be required to to investigate cases of suspected tax evasion, or cases involving, for example, cash payments from an unknown origin. But there is no way to know how actively the banks would pursue such case. So for foreign governments trying to get Switzerland to be more open this is not an ideal solution. As to customers of Swiss banks in Switzerland those two measures are not reassuring and this is the least I can say.
Therefore, if you have money in Switzerland what are your options?
The best option for me is Hong Kong. This is the place to go because it is one of the biggest financial and trading centers; no exchange control, little taxes if not at all, a good tradition of bank secrecy, a private banking tradition, and the protection of China. The US government will never be able to do to Hong Kong what it is doing to Switzerland.
One last thing, if you have been doing your banking in Switzerland through the assistance of a lawyer do not expect him or her to advise you to move your banking to another jurisdiction. Not that he/she does not want to but that he/she cannot do so. Why? Because the lawyer has then a status of financial intermediary and because of this he/she give you such advice because he/she would put himself at risk of sanctions by doing so. So we have this absurd situation where your longtime advisor cannot offer you the advice you need
Do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions in relation to this matter. We can assist you with the opening of a Hong Kong Bank account
Originally posted 2012-02-23 09:54:54. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
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