The Quest for Other Worlds

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SCIENCEsuisse is an introduction to the fascinating world of science, focusing on Switzerland’s role as a centre for international research.

The series, directed by leading Swiss filmmakers, profiles 25 outstanding researchers from a wide range of disciplines. We find out which projects top researchers are working on and what scientists are pondering in the 21st century.

The series was produced by the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC) in collaboration with the Swiss National Science Foundation.

Episode 10 The Quest for Other Worlds… Read the story »

Switzerland Tax Evasion Cooperation

(AP Photo/Keystone, Peter Schneider, file) In this March 6, 2009 file photo, Swiss Federal President Hans-Rudolf Merz, head of the Federal Department of Finance, conducts a news conference in Bern, Switzerland.

Switzerland Tax Evasion Cooperation - The Swiss government said Friday, March 13, it would cooperate on cases of international tax evasion, breaking with a long-standing tradition of protecting wealthy foreigners accused of hiding billions of dollars in the Alpine nation.

The government insisted it would hold onto its cherished banking secrecy rules, but said other countries could now expect Swiss cooperation in cases where they provide compelling evidence of tax evasion.

Switzerland passed its banking secrecy laws in 1934 during a worldwide depression and under the threat of espionage by France and Nazi Germany, which aggressively courted Swiss bank employees to divulge the names and data of customers. Strict penalties were imposed for violating bank confidentiality.

“We want assistance to be restricted to individual cases to prevent fishing expeditions,” President Hans-Rudolf Merz told a news conference, referring to the practice of seeking information about many individuals in the hope of discovering a few tax evaders.

A number of countries are hoping to avoid being blacklisted by world powers when they meet in April to discuss stepping up their fight against tax cheats. Austria and Luxembourg also said Friday they would step up cooperation on tax probes. But the greatest pressure has been on Switzerland, which is embroiled in a dispute with the United States over wealthy Americans that have stashed money in its biggest bank, UBS AG.

Swiss authorities have provided the U.S. with the bank details of up to 300 wealthy Americans suspected of tax fraud, but refuse to identify about 50,000 more U.S. account holders Washington wants.

The bank, and the government, have said further cooperation would violate Swiss law, which makes an unclear distinction between the serious crime of tax fraud and the minor offense of tax evasion.

“Banking secrecy does not protect tax crimes,” Merz said. The change, he added, “will increase the acceptance of the (Swiss) financial center and give customers greater confidence” and safeguard jobs in a sector that employs tens of thousands of people in Switzerland.

He said, however, that Switzerland will maintain banking confidentiality for clients unless foreign governments produce concrete evidence of tax evasion. Switzerland’s new cooperation will come into force after agreements with other governments that provide Swiss banks with new financial opportunities, he added.

Switzerland Tax Evasion Cooperation - Switzerland has been struggling to come up with a strategy for preserving banking secrecy while satisfying the demands of the United States, France, Germany and other foreign governments looking to crack down on tax evaders. The confidentiality of bank accounts is a sacred cow in the country, comparable to its long-standing neutrality, and has helped the country become one of the world’s richest.

The Swiss government also said Friday it would take part in a U.S. civil case against UBS, which is being accused of facilitating massive tax evasion by wealthy Americans. The Swiss will protect their “sovereign interests,” according to a statement.

The UBS case represents the most serious crisis in the Swiss banking community since the uproar in the 1990s over Jewish accounts left unclaimed after World War II. After reacting slowly, Swiss banks eventually agreed on a $1.25 billion out-of-court settlement with the descendants of Holocaust survivors.

Pictures from Switzerland

Oberaar glacier, Oberaarhorn and Triebten mountain lake, Bernese Oberland - (Swiss Image/Roland Gerth) Read the story »

Switzerland and the Swiss Flag

The Swiss Flag is made up of a white equilateral cross on a red field. It derives from a similar banner of the Holy Roman Empire, and thus indicates strong connotations with Christianity. Read the story »

Hans Erni Turns 100

Title: Pacem in terris, 1967 Artist: Hans Erni (Swiss b. 1909) - Medium: Tempera on paper - Dimensions: 64 x 46 cm - Image courtesy: Hans Erni, Luzern/Switzerland (private property)

Hans Erni Turns 100 - Hans Erni, the Swiss Abstract Painter, designer and sculptor was born on February 21, 1909.

Hans Erni was born in Lucerne in 1909 and studied at the École des Arts et Métiers and then at the Académie Julian in Paris from 1928-1929. Read the story »

Famous Swiss People

Famous Swiss People - Henry Dunant (1828-1910), Humanist; His exceptional vision led, as co-founder, to the creation of the Committee of the Red Cross in Geneva (now International Committee of the Red Cross, ICRC). Joint recipient of the first Nobel peace prize 1901). Read the story »