Ritchie got it wrong over Switzerland
Posted by Christie Malry on October 7, 2011 at 10:06 pm
Here's what he wrote in August:
So at a time when the government is demanding respect for the law, high moral standards and responsibility by all in society one group of criminals – those who have deliberately and knowingly broken the law by tax evading in Switzerland – are going to be let off without paying anything like what they owe even in tax, let alone in penalties and interest. What is more, instead of these people being brought before an all night court sitting to make sure justice is done with names and addresses being published for all to see anonymity is instead being guaranteed to those criminals so they can still held their heads up high in polite society.
And here's what Accountancy Age have reported today:
THE AGREEMENT between UK and Switzerland offers no guarantee of immunity to prosecution for UK residents who pay the one-off charge on the capital in their bank accounts.
The deal, which was signed yesterday, imposes a one-off deduction of between 19% and 34% on the capital in the Swiss accounts and a withholding tax of 48% on investment income and 27% on gains from 2013.
The agreement said it was "highly unlikely" that people making a disclosure under the agreement will be subject to a criminal investigation. However, advisors have pointed out that this is in contrast to the Liechtenstein Disclosure Facility, which specifically guarantees an immunity to prosecution.
So, while it's improbable that someone who is processed through the Swiss deal will get investigated, it's certainly not impossible. And that means it's nonsense to describe it as an amnesty. The highest profile and most egregious cases may yet end up in court.
That's an easy one to capitalise
'This has happened because of my heroic one-man campaign'
See. Some people never lose.