Swiss Bank Account Questions

Arteta

Hey everybody, I have finally signed up here after some time of browsing. I'm a money n00b so be nice

I've been researching the possibility of opening a Swiss bank account in a year or so; primarily for the reason of secrecy. It's not for the prestige or the financial benefits.

I have a few questions though:

1. Is there such a thing regarding secrecy anymore for banks?

2. Is there any way to keep the account secret whilst still paying taxes? I don't wish to face tax evasion charges. I should do my bit for the country and pay up, but I don't want to risk discovery. I can't see a way around it, if I get paid into a British account (where I pay tax) then transfer the money to my Swiss account it's kind of defeating the purpose.

3. If I turn up in Geneva with 50k-100k in a suticase i'm going to look dodgy and i'll get rejected, but if I transfer money from an existing British account to my new Swiss account then I'm still facing the same problem of revealing that I have a Swiss account in the first place. How am I supposed to avoid both scenarios?

4. If I have to leave a paper trail from my British account to my Swiss account then will it really affect my privacy? The government will know of my account but can they see or gain access to the balance/transactions?
If no then then perhaps questions 3 + 4 aren't a big problem.

Maybe i'm just missing something simple here as I'm new to financial research, but it seems a complete paradox.

glider3560

If you are wanting to still pay UK tax, but keep the account secret, then I can't see much point in actually keeping the account secret!

dzug1

You cannot legally hide the existence of the account from the UK tax authorities

Furthermore in the event of there being sufficient evidence of the account being used for organised crime purposes or for tax avoidance/evasion then the Swiss authorities will share information on the account with the relevant overseas authorities.

So what you want to do will serve little if any purpose.

Arteta

Not everybody wants a Swiss account for illegal purposes, I'm fully aware that all information will be given over to the UK in the event of a criminal investigation and rightly so. I have nothing to hide and will provide sufficient evidence when I am ready to open an account.
I don't want to evade UK tax (despite the fact it's spent unwisely) because I don't want to incriminate myself, just because I have nothing to hide doesn't mean I can't respect my privacy. Why else do you think people use Swiss accounts?
I want my money safe. I want my details safe, there should be less chance of somebody accessing my money if I use a Swiss account.

Maybe I'm a little paranoid but I want a pot where I can keep my own money, I'm not going to be a sucker to losing money from divorce etc. I'm not even married, but that doesn't mean I can't start early and keep some money away.

I appreciate your help in warning me, but please try not to post anything else that might offend me.

Surely there must be a way of keeping a Swiss account completely unattached to my British one whilst still paying tax, or are you suggesting ALL Swiss accounts are for tax evaders?

jambosans

Arteta wrote: »

Maybe I'm a little paranoid

A little is a bit of an understatement.

Voyager2002

Firstly, Swiss banking secrecy is largely a thing of the past.

I think that your stated objective could be achieved more easily, and at lower cost, by buying gold coins.

intranicity

I know it's your choice who you bank with, and can understand someone wanting some privacy, but I can't understand what you are trying/hoping to achieve?

Who are you trying to hide/shield your money from? You are willing to pay UK taxes, so HMRC will know how much you've been paid if they are being told the truth. Only benefit I can see is stopping the taxman charging you tax on your savings, which I can fully understand if you've paid tax at source already.

Only thing I can think of is taking your money out in cash and sending it via Western Union etc!!! or turning up with a suitcase full of money, I'm sure if you had proof of where it came from and it was legitimate that a Swiss Bank wouldn't bat an eye at it, not sure what the implications are though at customs on exit from this country and entry into Switzerland?

Personally I agree with the post above and think you sound paranoid, but I'm sure that you have reasons that we can't see/understand

choc_mouse

Arteta wrote: »

1. Is there such a thing regarding secrecy anymore for banks?

You should ask yourself who you are you trying to hide the money from rather than who won't see your money in Switzerland.

Arteta wrote: »

2. Is there any way to keep the account secret whilst still paying taxes? I don't wish to face tax evasion charges. I should do my bit for the country and pay up, but I don't want to risk discovery. I can't see a way around it, if I get paid into a British account (where I pay tax) then transfer the money to my Swiss account it's kind of defeating the purpose.

No. If you want to pay the necessary tax you'll need to declare it to HMRC.

Arteta wrote: »

3. If I turn up in Geneva with 50k-100k in a suticase i'm going to look dodgy and i'll get rejected, but if I transfer money from an existing British account to my new Swiss account then I'm still facing the same problem of revealing that I have a Swiss account in the first place. How am I supposed to avoid both scenarios?

Anti-money laundering laws will require the Swiss bank to verify where your money has come from. You might not be comfortable with that depending on the level of privacy you are trying to seek.

Arteta wrote: »

4. If I have to leave a paper trail from my British account to my Swiss account then will it really affect my privacy? The government will know of my account but can they see or gain access to the balance/transactions?

I think they won't have access to your account unless they suspect serious criminal activity.

£50-100k is not that much money for banks/governments so they might not even care, if you're lucky. You could consider other non-cooperative "tax havens" if you really want to hide your money. Anyway, there are plenty of services that help foreigners set up Swiss accounts and will have the answers to all your questions. I think you'll get more help from them than us.

dzug1

Arteta wrote: »

Surely there must be a way of keeping a Swiss account completely unattached to my British one whilst still paying tax, or are you suggesting ALL Swiss accounts are for tax evaders?

No there isn't. And yes I would suggest that most swiss accounts (for foreigners) are for tax evaders or other law breakers.

Even the case you mention (protecting assets in a divorce) whilst entirely understandable is still breaking UK law. It's called fraud.

c-m

Good question by the OP i've always wondered about this. Not for any specific reason as i don't have any money, but just a general wondering.

I've heard of US citizens being refused Swiss accounts because the Swiss don't want to have to tell the US authorities about every transaction made over $10,000 which is what's required in the states. However a second citizenship gets you round that problem.

To protect assets from a divorce, you want to be setting up shell companies owned by trusts etc.. There are people companies that specialise in such matters that can help.

ses6jwg

You've been watching too many James Bond films.