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瑞士银行还是避税天堂吗
Two of the world’s largest banks have come under scrutiny in the last few years for alleged unscrupulous business practices in Switzerland.So what shady things have these banks been accused of? And how does it affect you?
过去几年，世界两家最大的银行由于在瑞士的不道德业务行为受到审查。那么，这些银行做了什么阴暗的事情呢？对你有什么样的影响呢？
Well, first of all, a Swiss banking law in 1934 made it a criminal act for banks to reveal the names of its account holders. This came in handy for Jews during World War 2, when they were able to hide funds from the Nazis-- but the banks have since become an infamous tax haven for the global elite. The UBS, or the United Bank of Switzerland, and the London-based HSBC, short for the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, are some of the world’s largest banks which have benefitted from the 1934 law. UBS accounts and Swiss HSBC accounts have been held by the internationally wealthy- including many celebrities, politicians,royalty, corporate executives and families with old-money.
首先，1934年的瑞士银行法规定，银行披露储户姓名是犯罪行为。二战期间，这一点对于犹太人来说非常方便，他们能够隐藏资金不被纳粹人发现。但是自那以后，这些银行成为全球精英的避税天堂。世界上一些最大的银行从瑞士1934年的银行法中获益，瑞士联合银行和位于伦敦的香港上海汇丰银行有限公司就是其中两家。瑞士联合银行和瑞士汇丰银行账户一直由国际社会富豪持有，包括许多明星，政客，贵族，公司高管和有钱的世家。
It’s safe to say that both banks have had their share of run-ins with the law over the years. The UBS and other Swiss Banks were accused in the 1990s of keeping unclaimed World War II wealth to themselves - including things stolen by the Nazis. And in the 2000s,the UBS, the HSBC and their affiliates, were required to pay hundreds of millions of dollars in restitutions and penalties for unsavory business practices. These infractions have included mis-selling products to elderly customers, lending bank names and logos to fraudulent pension funds, being involved in the Enron collapse, and a huge Ponzi scheme that cost investors 600 million dollars. Lately, because of whistleblowers from inside the HSBC and the UBS, authorities have been made aware of alleged tax evasion schemes created by the banks themselves in order to help their clients hide money.
多年来，这两年银行都卷入关于该法律的口角。瑞士联合银行和其他瑞士银行被指控在上世纪90年代占有了无人认领的二战财产——包括被纳粹窃取的财产。2000年代，瑞士联合银行，汇丰银行和它们的附属机构被要求偿付数亿美元，作为卑劣的商业行为的赔偿和罚款。它们的违法行为包括向早期顾客误导性销售其产品，向欺骗性养老金基金出借银行名字和图标，卷入美国安然公司破产案，参与巨大的庞氏骗局，导致投资者损失6亿美元。后来，由于汇丰银行和瑞士联合银行内部工作人员揭发，当局了解到这些银行为了帮助客户隐藏资金而开发的漏税体制。
Tax evasion can negatively affect the majority of the world, while benefitting an elite minority.Regular taxpayers, like you and me, need to chip in more money to compensate for tax-evaders.
偷税漏税行为对全世界大多数人都有着负面影响，而受益者只是极少数。像你我这样普通的纳税人需要纳更多税来弥补偷税漏税者的金额。
A 2012 report from the Tax Justice Network estimates that CONSERVATIVELY, between 21 and 32 trillion dollars goes unreported from the world’s wealthiest people. Money which is stored in tax havens like the ones allegedly offered by certain Swiss banks.
来自税收正义网2012年一份报告称，保守估计，实际上最富有的人21至32兆美元的财富未缴税。这些资金就存放在某些瑞士银行提供的避税天堂里。
The UBS says that it has since amended its policies and takes regulator accusations very seriously. The HSBC maintains a similar sentiment,and reports that it has refocused and re-evaluated business practices. Many other banks have also settled with government regulators for huge sums of money, and they pledge to do better. Back in 2011, a G20 summit report declared that “the era of bank secrecy is over”. However, with the recent Swiss bank controversies, it appears that’s not the case.
瑞士联合银行表示，自那时起，他们已经在修改政策，严肃对待监管机构的指控。汇丰银行也是同样的态度，称他们已经集中关注并重新评估业务行为。许多其他银行也与政府监管者合作追回了大笔资金，并承诺以后做得更好。2011年，G20峰会一份报告宣布“银行保密的时代过去了”，然而，从瑞士银行最近引发的争议来看，事实并非如此。
