Wikileaks To Name Swiss Bank Tax Evaders

eldavojohn writes "The old cliche that the rich and corrupt hold all their money in Swiss bank accounts (to avoid taxation) may finally have a bit of transparency, as the news today is that Wikileaks has been handed a list of account holders tendered by Rudolf Elmer, former banker of Julius Baer. Julian Assange promises a 'full revelation' while Elmer cited his motivation as being: 'I want to let society know how this system works. It's damaging society.' This appears to be real, as Mr. Elmer is soon to appear before a Zurich regional court on charges of coercion as well as violations of Switzerland's strict banking secrecy laws. The public may soon find out that their favorite celebrity, politician or employer doesn't feel responsible to contribute financially to the commonwealth at the expense of privacy."

Comments

Well now

[jav1231]

This could be interesting. It's one thing to piss off governments and having made yourself so public you are afforded some protection by your celebrity. Pissing off some private citizens with deep pockets could mean you're found floating in a river.

Either way, Wikileaks is out of control. I just hoped they're caught and stopped. There are ways of whistle-blowing but this sure isn't the most most ethical by any means. They're wielding their information not just as an offense weapon (as most whistle-blowing would be) but also as a defense and sometimes as a preempt simply because they can. Just because you know something doesn't mean you should say it. Obviously, few on the board are married.

What is more damaging to society?

[WCMI92]

An individual who seeks to minimize his tax obligations or a government that feels that it is ENTITLED to tax everything that moves?

Re:Outing criminals is one thing . . . .

[JesseMcDonald]

I like paying taxes. With them I buy civilization.

An unfortunately popular quote, which happens to miss the point completely. You're quite welcome to pay whatever "taxes" you want, but you have no right to compel others to fund your "civilization". What you really like is making other people pay taxes, so that you can have what you want at their expense.