California Asset Protection Attorney, Sebastian Gibson
Offshore Asset Protection Advice and An Analysis of Swiss Bank Secrecy Today from a Knowledgeable Asset Protection Law Firm
If you’ve been searching for California asset protection lawyers or offshore asset protection attorneys in California and haven’t found the asset protection attorney in which you can be confident when retaining a lawyer for your asset protection, voluntary disclosure, offshore trust protection and family limited partnership matters in California, Sebastian Gibson is the asset protection attorney you’ve been looking for.
California Asset Protection Lawyer
With over thirty years of experience handling international matters, with law degrees in both California and in Great Britain, and years of international experience in London as well as decades of experience in California, California asset protection lawyer Sebastian Gibson brings a wealth of experience to the table and was chosen one of the 2011 Top Lawyers by Palm Springs Life Magazine.
For those interested in offshore asset protection and bank secrecy, an interesting case study in bank secrecy today is what has happened to Swiss bank secrecy in just the past few years.
As a sign of the times, in March 2010, the Swiss Federal Council announced it no longer wants undeclared, untaxed funds from overseas and that it will act to regularize untaxed assets in Swiss banks and keep out new untaxed money.
This announcement raised more questions than it answered. What about existing deposits? Is the Swiss Federal Council really saying to these account holder, go away, or is it more likely they’re saying, become tax compliant because we hate to see you go elsewhere.
Indeed, without the hundreds of billions of dollars in Swiss banks from citizens of other countries, what would happen to the Swiss way of life? When one considers what would happen if all foreign bank account holders moved their accounts to other countries, the statement by Finance Minister Hans-Rudolf Merz ruling out adopting automatic exchange of information for tax purposes with other countries probably calmed the frayed nerves of Swiss citizens.
Said Merz, "Automatic exchange of information would be the end of banking secrecy, and it would greatly damage the Swiss financial industry."
However, Switzerland, under pressure by the G-20 and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has signed 18 treaties on tax information exchange in the last year, one with the U.S. Five more are set for discussion in the Swiss parliament.
Should bank secrecy continue to be eroded allowing counties such as Switzerland only to hold tax-compliant assets in it’s foreign owned bank accounts, the Swiss could very well see an erosion of their standard of life which is much related to the amount of foreign money in their banking system.
The hundreds of billions of dollars and equivalent amounts of other currencies on deposit in Swiss banks provide the Swiss nation with an amazingly high standard of living and an equally enviable low crime rate. There’s little need to commit a crime as most Swiss live very very comfortably. With the Swiss franc propped up by these bank deposits, goods are cheaper, and life is good.
Before the reader decides Switzerland will soon be an impoverished nation, one should consider that there is still a use for Swiss banks by tax-compliant Americans and citizens from other countries. While U.S. banks have been offering interest rates as low as 1 to 2 % over the past couple of years, deposits in Swiss banks managed well have earned significantly higher, when one adds the exchange rate advantage such funds have garnered the past two years.
If an investor believes that with the increase in the U.S. debt, the value of the U.S. dollar will continue to decline, a non-secret tax-compliant bank account in Switzerland still has significant attractiveness. Indeed, while Swiss banks have recently seen an outflow of money from their vaults, many offshore asset protection attorneys and foreign bankers have seen other U.S. citizens transferring their assets to Switzerland and other foreign jurisdictions as the national debt continues to grow and worries grow larger how the U.S. will ever reduce it’s debt and the budget in this era of slow growth.
Many Americans find themselves asking themselves whether bank secrecy is truly dead or dying. In countries such as Switzerland, account information has been handed out, if at all, only in small scoops. The Swiss banking authorities have acted like a firewall against foreign tax authority intrusion.
Under the OECD procedure, a country requesting information from a country under one of the treaties on tax information exchange must show prima facie evidence of tax fraud. Fishing expeditions are not allowed. And while counties like Switzerland want to cooperate with other nations so as not to be perceived as a rogue nation, and while their banks want to keep doing business in the U.S., the Swiss way of life must also be considered by its governmental and financial agencies.
However, those who would therefore conclude that money can still be brazenly hidden in Switzerland and other foreign countries and that their information can never be released have their heads in the sand. With increased monitoring of the transfers of money, the use of offshore credit cards, mobile phones and calling cards all being monitored and the information being provided by whistleblowers not to mention banks under threat of criminal prosecution, bank secrecy is indeed crumbling.
Will the money stashed in Swiss banks over the last century by unscrupulous or deposed dictators ever be discovered or returned to the countries which saw the cultural and financial heritage of their sovereign nations disappear with the slight of hand by their dictators? One can only wonder.
An estimate on the conservative side is that 30% of Swiss banking is related to tax evasion by account holders. And countries like Switzerland are facing the increased pressure not only of the U.S. but of countries such as Germany which today is much more less tolerant of tax evaders. If the German Finance Minister is to be believed, there is no future for bank secrecy. It’s finished. It’s time has run out. The Swiss, who have warned German authorities it will not cooperate if German tax authorities purchase stolen data about German holders of Swiss bank accounts however, may not yet be convinced.
Many would argue today that the focus of tax authorities should be focused more on jurisdictions such as the Cayman Islands, the Cook Islands, Bermuda, Bahamas and Nevis rather than Switzerland. However, when one country’s secrecy, such as that of Switzerland starts to crack, others may also.
Switzerland has seen an outflow of $5.5 billion in the last quarter of 2009 alone. The belief is that another $25 to $35 billion could flee as well. With $100 billion in assets from other tax-sensitive countries, and over $1.8 trillion in Swiss banking assets, that’s nothing to sneeze at, but the banking system in Switzerland will survive just fine and international events will cause additional money to flow into Switzerland if for no other reason than for safety.
In compliance with IRS requirements, as an offshore asset protection law firm, we must advise you that this analysis of Swiss bank secrecy and any U.S. federal tax advice contained in this informational article is not intended to be used nor is it published in order for it to be used and you may not use it for the purpose of avoiding penalties or fines under the Internal Revenue Code. It is not intended to be used nor is it being published in order to promote, market or recommend any specific transaction, tax-related matter or estate planning tax scheme to any party.
California Asset Protection Attorney, Sebastian Gibson
Sought out to be a writer for California’s two largest and most prestigious legal newspapers, California asset protection attorney Sebastian Gibson’s articles have been published in the Los Angeles Daily Journal and the San Francisco Daily Journal. Today thousands and thousands of people visit this website and his blogs monthly for useful advice and thousands more follow him on Twitter for his humor.
One of the best asset protection attorneys for people in California to follow for his humor and wit, one of the funniest California asset protection lawyers as well as one of the top humorous California asset protection attorneys people follow on Twitter, California asset protection attorney Sebastian Gibson has been called "brilliant," "hilariously funny" and a "legend."
It matters more than you think who you call for your asset protection and other legal matters. When it matters most, call California asset protection lawyer Sebastian Gibson. When it’s time to hire a California asset protection attorney, hire a legend.
