Posted on 10/18/2009 7:51:22 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
GENEVA (Reuters) - Swiss bank UBS AG warned U.S. customers by registered mail their account details may be given to U.S. tax authorities, a method that could itself breach secrecy laws, a Swiss paper said on Sunday.
The use of registered mail and envelopes showing the sender was UBS could enable the U.S. authorities to trace customers wanted for tax evasion well before their details are handed over under a U.S.-Swiss double taxation agreement, Sonntag weekly paper said.
A spokesman for UBS declined to comment on the report.
Switzerland and the United States settled a row over evasion of U.S. taxes in August when Switzerland agreed to hand over details of 4,450 U.S. accounts at UBS.
But it could take into early 2010 before the first names are handed over under the agreed legal procedures.
Some 7,500 Americans voluntarily disclosed information about hidden overseas assets under a tax amnesty program that expired on October 15, according to the top U.S. tax collector.
UBS had agreed in February to pay $780 million to settle a criminal investigation accusing it of helping American clients evade taxes. At the same it agreed to release the names of about 250 clients in a first breach of Switzerland's banking secrecy.
Sonntag quoted lawyer Andreas Rued, who is representing some U.S. clients of the bank, as saying the use of registered mail and envelopes showing the name of the bank could constitute a contravention of Switzerland's banking secrecy laws. He said he was considering whether to seek a criminal investigation against the bank.
No one was immediately available at Rued's Zurich office.
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
One response, two words: “Encrypted comms”.
Single-time, one-use ‘pads’ if necessary.
Thanks to the Patriot Act, I’m sure it’s happening as we speak.
My husband calls GWB a socialist and Obummer a communist.
Those rich enough will simply relocate. Fewer tax receipts the result.
Better they should fund the nonviolent revolution that restores constitutional government, but that’s not likely.
Why not simply enact a tax code that makes it much more profitable to keep your money here in the US? Such a tax code could easily result in bringing in more revenue than the that makes it desirable to stash your fortune offshore.
Looks to me like they are much more interested in using the tax code for something other than raising revenue!
In the 1950s he still had a substantial part of this gold and knew where to sell it, after it was melted down,and got a fair price for it. Eventually of course gold was legalized again.
The official price for gold at the time was 16 Bucks an ounce, he got far more than that for it on the black market.
I am sure this will happen again, gold being bought and sold on the black market, if Bozo makes it once again illegal to own gold.
What I could never understand was that Jewelers could own gold in order to make , watches, rings etc, and citizens could own those items.
So what's the difference between that an raw gold, it really was a stupid law and was done solely to take us off the gold standard so FDR could print money as fast as the could and the government has been doing it every since then.
Your husband is right.
Such a tax code exists; it has been researched more than any other and is ready for use:
And yes the present tax code is now used for control and monitoring moreso than for revenues. In addition to income tax revenues, government revenues are now provided by foreign governments and when those foreign sources stop buying US debt, the Federal Reserve simply prints what government needs in exchange for more treasury bond debt.
One consequence is that the US Government has beoome more independent from its taxpayers, unaccountable to them. It does not need the taxpayer exclusively any longer. Foreigners and the Fed have influence that cuts off the American people from its government.
Although there are still elections we have seen the growing number of reports of foreign money pouring into campaigns for election. That money can be used to pay people on the ground to influence election outcomes.
Under the Soviet communists, non-party member people were allowed to vote to create an illusion of representative democracy. However, the candidates were all chosen by the party, so it did not matter who was elected because whoever it was would follow the party and not the voters.
Now read the previous sentence and the only difference we have in America is the notion of a two party system. However, we know that is more and more of an illusion as there is an oligarchy that has growing control over candidate selection for both parties. For example, Goldman Sachs and international bankers. And Goldman is the handmaiden for the Fed.
Indeed, without hysterical conspiracy, we can see that foreign banks and the Fed have inserted themselves between the US Government and its taxpayers. The only way to return the US Government to the American people is to pass major historical tax reform.
Unfortunately, such a tax reform appears more likely to be be effected only by revolt, a sustained and committed will to revolt using civil disobedience. This is because no matter what party is in power, and indeed party control may shift in 2010, the money that funds to support or oppose key districts and states comes from non-voters, from the oligarchy of interests, e.g. Goldman, China, Soros and many others not in the public eye.
What’s next ? Monitoring e-mail and phone conversations ? I thought those were reserved only for terrorists... not taxpayers.
Stiff, a 25-year veteran of the IRS, will help oversee SB/SE, one of four operating divisions within the IRS. The division employs almost 44,000 workers and oversees a variety of compliance programs for individuals and small businesses. It serves 45 million taxpayers.
“Linda brings with her an extensive background in tax administration that will serve her well in this key position,” Everson said. “As the IRS enhances its enforcement efforts, Linda’s strong background in compliance will be a real asset.”
Prior to her appointment, Stiff served as the Director, Compliance in the IRS Wage and Investment (W&I) Division, where she focused on taxpayer groups that demonstrated a high risk of non-payment and returns that posed a high risk of non-compliance.
“Linda’s insight and expertise will help SB/SE move forward on a variety of important areas,” SB/SE Commissioner Kevin Brown said. “She’s a valuable addition to the SB/SE team, and we look forward to working with her.”
Stiff began her IRS career in 1979 as a revenue agent in Jacksonville, Fla., and subsequently advanced into a number of management positions. She has served as the Business Review Executive for the Chief Operations Officer, the National Director of Governmental Liaison and Disclosure, the Chief of Staff to the IRS Commissioner, the Senior Advisor to the Chief Operations Officer and Senior Advisor to the Commissioner of W&I. Stiff also played an important role in the recent IRS reorganization.
She is a graduate of Rollins College in Winter Park, Fla., and holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Accounting.
Stiff, a 25-year veteran of the IRS, will help oversee SB/SE, one of four operating divisions within the IRS. The division employs almost 44,000 workers and oversees a variety of compliance programs for individuals and small businesses. It serves 45 million taxpayers.
“Linda brings with her an extensive background in tax administration that will serve her well in this key position,” Everson said. “As the IRS enhances its enforcement efforts, Linda’s strong background in compliance will be a real asset.”
Prior to her appointment, Stiff served as the Director, Compliance in the IRS Wage and Investment (W&I) Division, where she focused on taxpayer groups that demonstrated a high risk of non-payment and returns that posed a high risk of non-compliance.
“Linda’s insight and expertise will help SB/SE move forward on a variety of important areas,” SB/SE Commissioner Kevin Brown said. “She’s a valuable addition to the SB/SE team, and we look forward to working with her.”
Stiff began her IRS career in 1979 as a revenue agent in Jacksonville, Fla., and subsequently advanced into a number of management positions. She has served as the Business Review Executive for the Chief Operations Officer, the National Director of Governmental Liaison and Disclosure, the Chief of Staff to the IRS Commissioner, the Senior Advisor to the Chief Operations Officer and Senior Advisor to the Commissioner of W&I. Stiff also played an important role in the recent IRS reorganization.
She is a graduate of Rollins College in Winter Park, Fla., and holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Accounting.
hiccup
At the time, there were gold certificates (and Silver Certificates) in circulation. A similarity of both is that they were redeemable in the form of the precious metal (gold or silver coin) at the treasury.
Had those certificates been recalled and they not regulated the metal, there would have been a rush to redeem the paper for the metal, and gold stocks would have dwindled.
Silver dollars and coins (10, 25, 50 cents) were not in short supply, but in general circulation, so the Silver certificates survived until just before the switch from to silver to clad coinage in 1965 (with the exception of half-dollars, which were 40% silver from '65 to '70).
When that was done, the relatively few silver and gold certificates, a scattering of United States Notes, were mainly in coin/currency collections, and the circulating currency was primarily Federal Reserve Notes, which no longer said "This note is legal tender for all debts, public and private, and is redeemable in lawful money at the US Treasury or any Federal Reserve Bank."
Effectively, Article I, Section 10: "No State shall...make any Thing but gold and silver coin a tender of payment in debts... had been subverted by the Federal Reserve and the Federal Government.
The remainder of the silver coinage in circulation was rapidly snapped up by people, 'hoarders', and collectors in the mid '60s, some of it melted down because the value of the .7 oz.(approximately) of silver per dollar of face value exceeded the face value of the coinage.
Gold coins, as well as gold certificates, survived in the hands of collectors and in private stashes, as did their silver equivalents, and they will do so again if such are banned, reserved for transactions in the black market or for 'contraband' goods such as firearms and ammunition, health care, pharmaceuticals, food, fuel...
Of course, the obvious hoarding spots for gold are in plain sight, simple chains, bands, etc. of high carat jewelry, preferably bought at 'junk' prices, gold crowns and fillings (expensive and painful to part with), etc.
People who either made jewelry or did dental work had supplies of the metal on hand as stock in trade, and those were sometimes exchanged as well.
Do a search on CARNIVORE and ECHELON. That has been going on for a loooong time.
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