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瑞士銀行還是避稅天堂嗎
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?
過去幾年，世界兩家最大的銀行由于在瑞士的不道德業務行為受到審查。那么，這些銀行做了什么陰暗的事情呢？對你有什么樣的影響呢？
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年的瑞士銀行法規定，銀行披露儲戶姓名是犯罪行為。二戰期間，這一點對于猶太人來說非常方便，他們能夠隱藏資金不被納粹人發現。但是自那以后，這些銀行成為全球精英的避稅天堂。世界上一些最大的銀行從瑞士1934年的銀行法中獲益，瑞士聯合銀行和位于倫敦的香港上海匯豐銀行有限公司就是其中兩家。瑞士聯合銀行和瑞士匯豐銀行賬戶一直由國際社會富豪持有，包括許多明星，政客，貴族，公司高管和有錢的世家。
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.
多年來，這兩年銀行都卷入關于該法律的口角。瑞士聯合銀行和其他瑞士銀行被指控在上世紀90年代占有了無人認領的二戰財產——包括被納粹竊取的財產。2000年代，瑞士聯合銀行，匯豐銀行和它們的附屬機構被要求償付數億美元，作為卑劣的商業行為的賠償和罰款。它們的違法行為包括向早期顧客誤導性銷售其產品，向欺騙性養老金基金出借銀行名字和圖標，卷入美國安然公司破產案，參與巨大的龐氏騙局，導致投資者損失6億美元。后來，由于匯豐銀行和瑞士聯合銀行內部工作人員揭發，當局了解到這些銀行為了幫助客戶隱藏資金而開發的漏稅體制。
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.
偷稅漏稅行為對全世界大多數人都有著負面影響，而受益者只是極少數。像你我這樣普通的納稅人需要納更多稅來彌補偷稅漏稅者的金額。
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.
來自稅收正義網2012年一份報告稱，保守估計，實際上最富有的人21至32兆美元的財富未繳稅。這些資金就存放在某些瑞士銀行提供的避稅天堂里。
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.
瑞士聯合銀行表示，自那時起，他們已經在修改政策，嚴肅對待監管機構的指控。匯豐銀行也是同樣的態度，稱他們已經集中關注并重新評估業務行為。許多其他銀行也與政府監管者合作追回了大筆資金，并承諾以后做得更好。2011年，G20峰會一份報告宣布“銀行保密的時代過去了”，然而，從瑞士銀行最近引發的爭議來看，事實并非如此。
