Swiss Tax cheats run to Liechtenstein

Well its all hotting up.

Last years mega deal between the UK and the Swiss to share the naughty on who has been tax evading, a mean tax restructuring in an efficient manner - might have come to bite them in the butt.

Many offshore bank users have shifted funds to Liechtenstein and are using the infamous Liechtenstein Disclosure Facility (LDF) to stick the proverbial two fingers up at the tax man.

However if this continues will we see new Tax jobs being created in Liechtenstein and not Switzerland? Its not as daft as it sounds…

But first the background:

Since the LDF appeared last year it has become a way for UK taxpayers with undeclared income in Switzerland to move (hide) their assets in the wake of the Anglo- Swiss agreement. For whilst on the face of it the LDF seems to make it more transparent it now seems it is perhaps a clever means of deflecting attention as individual flood the state let with cash.

Indeed for backing to this concept one merely has to talk to the experts. When we asked Head of Tax at RSM Tenion whether the Swiss agreement would inadvertently increase uptake of the LDF he told us "yes". WOW!

Meanwhile in blighty despite an almost 1 billion pound push to combat tax evasion, HMRC still has to wade through the shear volume of info from Switzerland, before it can look at Liechtenstein’s. It remains to be seen if this will lead to dwindling staff numbers and falling banking jobs in Switzerland. It is unclear what the implications upon jobs in Switzerland and Swiss banking jobs could be.....