Posted on 07/05/2015 7:21:10 AM PDT by Citizen Zed
Greece has proposed a tax amnesty in an effort to collect revenue on billions of euros that its citizens are believed to have quietly stashed in Swiss bank accounts, the NZZ am Sonntag paper reported.
The plan, which still needs Greek parliamentary approval and a final accord with Switzerland, is to levy a flat 21 percent tax on such assets to make them legitimate, raising millions that the government in Athens desperately needs, the Sunday paper said, citing unidentified sources.
"We welcome the fact that Greece has presented a proposal to resolve this," it quoted Mario Tuor, communications director at the Swiss state secretariat for international financial issues (SIF), as saying.
Asked about the report, a finance ministry spokesman in Berne said: "We are in talks but nothing is decided yet."
The paper cited wildly varying estimates that Greeks may have parked between 2 billion and 200 billion euros ($2.2 billion to $220 billion) at Swiss banks, which have been trying to shake off their image as havens for those seeking to avoid the tax collector.
(Excerpt) Read more at mobile.reuters.com ...
I’m sure the Greeks will get right on that and bring their money home. That would be like expecting Democrats to stop engaging in election fraud.
That is what got Greece there in the first place. And made Social Security so financially solid as well.
Socialists don't do real numbers very well.
Greece needs to kick their tax slaves to start working harder.
Laughable statement. They are being forced to do so by the EU and the US.
Just a 21% tax, maybe a 30% “haircut,” more taxes when you spend it and the remaining wiped out by higher prices. Sounds great.
Yep, banks that exist for the benefit of the depositors need to be fundamentally transformed to work for the benefit of govt.
ZACKLY RIGHT!!! - and they HATE it.
...or expecting Jeb Bush to grow a spine......
The Greeks are a lot more generous than the US government is.
THe US Government wants to control the wealth of all US citizens with onerous reporting requirements and gotcha penalties. We have defacto capital controls rather than explicit ones, both on individuals and corporations. We’re also unique in having worldwide taxation on income.
That said, a Greek citizen would have to be crazy to bring his money back from Switzerland. Where’s he going to put it—in the Greek banking system, where he’d have to worry about a “bail-in?”
21% to make the money squirreled away in Switzerland “legimate”? I’ve got another idea - leave Greece and - voila - the money’s now legit and without losing one fifth to a bunch of thieves.
Any Greek who brings their money back from Switzerland is a damn fool.
I'm wondering when individual stashes of silver and gold bullion and coins will be illegal. And when the banks and govs work to implement a cashless economy.
Raiders of the lost parked.
Suckers!
ROFLMAO
they actually think people would bring their money back into the country after the ‘haircuts’ over $8k??
you’d have to be a special kind of stupid to do that
Hard money, black market barter might come, for a while.
In my opinion, it’s a lot less convenient than the current system of payments. But if that collapses, y’gotta do something.
Unfortunately, if the government decides that metal-backed money is important to a restructuring, I doubt that they’ll hesitate to confiscate.
My thinking: ANY dollar/euro/drachma/... that doesn’t end up in gov’t coffers is a GOOD dollar/euro/drachma... Gov’ts just can’t be trusted with money.
Sorry to see the Swiss fold under the pressure (which is not an endorsement of Swiss banking practices - past and present - in *all* cases, just to make that clear).
I've read, from a reputable source, that government hackers are in the Swiss accounts anyway - the Swiss might not have had a choice.
Very likely!
And, of course, there are ‘insiders’ who sell account data to ‘interested parties’ - like the various gov’ts.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.