Topic > Problem of non-payment of taxes in Switzerland

Technology has been the basis of great changes worldwide that have influenced many aspects of everyone's life. It has made us smaller by bringing global markets together and interconnecting businesses and people. The benefits of this innovation can be measured by thinking about the increase in company productivity, the reduction of costs and the ease of communicating with anyone anywhere in the world. However, in addition to the great advantages, several problems have also emerged. Technology, in fact, has brought about considerable changes too quickly, leaving society no time to adapt. Such a dramatic development has brought distinct cultural and judicial systems into comparison and highlighted their discrepancies. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay The secrecy of Swiss banks has been on the table for discussion for several years now; However, not many people know what it really is and its latest developments. Banks, like any other financial entity, aim to make a profit by offering a product. In addition to the usual banking tasks and transactions, Swiss economic institutions have chosen to make reliability and security the core of their corporate belief. As a result, a federal law, more commonly known as Bank Secrecy, was passed to help create a relationship of trust between the two parties. Nowadays, banking secrecy has been part of Switzerland since 1934, when, during the Second World War, special provisions were adopted to protect foreign bank accounts and assets. These exclusive agreements guaranteed the confidentiality of any activity between the bank and its customers, making Switzerland one of the most important countries. the main economic paradise in the world. This privacy service, in fact, attracted an unknown number of tax evaders from all over the globe. However, it has only been about a decade since the fraud committed came to light, offenders began to be held legally accountable for their actions, and bank secrecy began to be considered controversial. Among these violators of the law are three major Swiss financial institutions, UBS AG, Credit Suisse AG and Julius Baer AG, all found guilty by the US Department of Justice of helping Americans evade taxes and file false tax returns. The three banks were respectively charged with fines of $780 million in 2009, $2.6 billion in 2014 and $547 million in 2016. Many other Swiss banks were charged and pleaded guilty during the investigations. On the other hand, we have wealthy people who wanted to maintain the benefits of the society they live in without paying taxes. The answer to why both banks and rich people have committed illegal actions such as tax fraud or tax evasion is easily attributed to money and greed. However, it is appropriate to make a clarification between two concepts that seem the same but which in the eyes of Swiss law are not. In fact, tax fraud occurs when an individual intentionally creates false documentation to hide taxable income and is punishable by prison time. However, we talk about tax evasion when a person does not fully declare their income when filing their tax return and is punishable by a fine. This small detail does not erase the fact that Swiss bankers were aware that they were helping people who did not pay contributions to their governments and were essentially stealing public money from the government's pockets. At the end of long-lasting negotiations, the Swiss banks and.