This is the story of Rudolf Elmer of Switzerland, former Chief Operating Officer of Bank Julius Baer on the Cayman Islands. The story of a man suspected of leaking to the press information about the activities of a Swiss bank specialized in hiding and laundering the money of the ultra rich through anonymizing offshore trust structures. It also is the story of a man and his family living with the consequences of being suspected of fouling the nest of a traditional Swiss bank engaging in dubious activities. This story might differ from previous one's related to this issue, mainly because while researching the story, Rudolf Elmer has also been asked for his account of things....It became essentially clear that he was a prime suspect and Bank Julius Baer wanted to get rid of him. Personal suggestions by his manager to go out diving, possibly as deep as possible, as well as anonymous phone calls to his family suggesting they should leave the country for their own good, did not make the whole situation much easier for the Elmers. As can be derived from the transcript and personal communication with him, Rudolf Elmer felt very much like being home on the Caymans, much in contrast to Switzerland, and the same can be said for his family....According to Elmer (most of the allegations appear in his Dec 2007 court documents), he was subject to more or less permanent observation, as was his family. His then 6-year old daughter got followed on her way to school/kindergarden, his wife and daughter were even engaged in a chase on a Swiss autobahn by the Ryffel AG, which had to be intercepted by the Police (police confirmed). Cars driving in the dead-end street he lived in at night, annoying his neighbours and putting further pressure on him. The phone calls, that started in the Caymans followed to Switzerland. The situation again became very uncomfortable, with Elmer's 8-year old daughter suffering trauma from the bizarre lifestyle her family was forced into. Elmer also was offered CHF 500,000 by the bank, according to his statement in an effort to buy his silence; he turned down the offer and asked the bank to be charged with bribery, but the police found no law against bribing private persons.
- Jake Ceterum censeo Chicago esse delendam
Germany has always had a problem with tax evasion, mainly because of relatively high marginal tax rates. Slovakia with its 19% flat tax has no such problem. Austria, which has one of the lowest tax rates of the industrialised countries, has no such problem either, even though, unlike Germany, it has a direct border with Liechtenstein. Nor have the Swiss. The French have a problem with Switzerland and Monaco. The Italians have a problem with Monaco. And the Spanish have a problem with Andorra. But nobody has bigger problems than Germany (which has problems with Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, Switzerland and even Austria). Germany is a country where business elites enjoy among the lowest pay packages, and the highest marginal taxes....The bottomline is that the purpose of this tax razzia is to feed the German public's unsatiable anti-capitalist mood, but it is not going to make any fundamental difference. It is a macroeconomic non-event. The only way for Germany to reduce tax evasion is to reduce marginal taxes. A criminal mind causes an individual to be a tax evader. But on a macroeconomic scale, it is taxes that cause tax evasion, and nothing else.
"If the Italian government succeeds in destroying Sicily's business model,"
Will somebody please clarify the difference between these two? 'Cause I sure don't see any.
