No tax haven for the wicked - or anyone else!

The upmarket financial services company Credit Suisse will pass details of wealthy Americans with Swiss accounts to the Swiss government, bringing the American tax authorities closer to obtaining the names of alleged tax cheats.

Credit Suisse recently confirmed it will be complying with a request from the Swiss government information after the U.S. requested Switzerland's help to catch American citizens suspected of tax fraud. Credit Suisse is advising its American clients that it has agreed to pass information to the authorities.

Swiss bank secrecy has helped the country become the world's biggest supplier of offshore banking but the Swiss authorities are facing increased pressure from governments concerned about the scale of tax evasion and the impact it has upon their economies as the world recession bites.

The U.S. tax authorities, who suspect many tens of thousands of Americans are of evading taxes through Swiss private banks, are conducting criminal investigations into Swiss financial institutions, including Credit Suisse.

The Swiss and American Authorities have been trying to secure a deal that will end investigations into U.S. clients at a number of Swiss banks in return for payment of fines and the transfer of the names of clients who are under suspicion of tax evasion.

Switzerland has agreed to do more to help other countries hunt tax cheats, recently securing deals with Britain and Germany to regularize untaxed accounts.

While Cork Monkey beleives everyone should pay their taxes - the reframing of what is considered taxable and the greater efforts spent in getting it is probably an attempt by governments to increase revenue as the money from traditional tax receipts falls.

 Will the last tax dodger heading for an alternative tax haven please turn out the lights as they leave the country...

(:-(|)CM

Republican Presidential Hopeful in another sex scandal.

Another woman has accused Herman Cain of groping her. This time the incident was 14 years ago.  

Ms S Bialek said that the incident took place in 1997 after she went to him as the Head of the National Restaurant Association after she had been fired from its education foundation.  After a night out he allegedly propositioned her, slid his hand up her skirt and pushed her head toward his groin. When Ms Bialek resisted his advances he said “you want a job right”

Denial

Mr Cain immediately denied her account and his campaign issued a statement stating Mr Cain had not harassed anyone and questioning the woman’s motives.  He is reported as saying “there is not an ounce of truth in these allegations” and called himself ‘disgusted’ by them.  His Office have released a statement noting that no record of the incident exists and no complaint filed against Mr Cain at the time. They point out that Ms Bialek has a history of ‘severe financial difficulties’ and is being represented by Gloria Allred, a lawyer who specialises in high profile and acrimonious cases against rich men by their ex’s (including some of Tiger Woods mistresses).

Unfortunately for Mr Cain Ms Bialeks is not an isolated case.  She is the fourth to have accused him of sex related charges. Is there no smoke without fire or is this simply the cut and thrust of American politics and his rivals, unable to unseat him by other means, are playing the man and not the ball.
CM

New Book From Bill Clinton

A way out of Dodge...

It is reported that in his soon to be released book ex-President Bill Clinton thinks President Obama made two key mistakes.

The first was not raising the federal debt ceiling early in his term when the Democrats still commanded a majority in Congress, and the second was then failing to devise an effective national campaign message during the 2010 midterms.

Clinton, at times, paints a gloomy portrait of the U.S. economy criticizing Republicans who as delivering an antigovernment ideology rather than proper political engagement and suggesting that can only contribute to America’s domestic and global economic woes, suggesting that on the flipside Obama has no effective strategy for dealing with them and has yet to fully develop effective economic policies.          

A recurring theme of the book is that there is a more hopeful future and he urges the country, as he did during his time in office to get “back in the future business.

However the book suggests that in the main Obama has skillfully played the hand he was dealt and given the situation he inherited his approach to stimulating a sluggish economy was about right dismissing Republican approaches as having not worked for thirty years

Clinton  advises that a strong private sector and intelligent government must work together to restore the nations fortunes investing in 21^st century infrastructure so that it can one again compete on the worlds stage. He argues that there is no evidence that the antigovernment approach will work drawing stating co-operation works better than conflict at times like these.

His book entitled “Back to Work – Why we need a strong Government for a Smart Economy” is to be released on the 8th November 2011

CM