The Site Open Swiss Bank Account

Some bank accounts are afforded an extra degree of privacy. Information concerning such accounts, known as numbered accounts, is restricted to senior bank officers, rather than being accessible to all the employees of a bank. However, the information required to open such an account is no different from that of an ordinary account; completely anonymous accounts are prohibited by law. Should a criminal investigation take place, law enforcement has access to information related to a numbered account in the same way it has access to information about any other account, Swiss bank accounts cannot be opened without the holder signing a legal document asserting that they have no outstanding financial obligations to the IRS. Pressure on Switzerland has been applied by several states and international organizations attempting to alter the Swiss privacy policy. The European Union, whose member countries geographically surround Switzerland, has complained about member states' nationals using Swiss banks to avoid taxation in their home countries. The EU has long sought a harmonized tax regime among its member states, although many Swiss banking officials (and, according to some polls, the public) are resisting any such changes. An estimated 50,000 accounts in Switzerland were opened by victims during the Nazi regime of the Nazis. Since July 1, 2005, Switzerland has charged a withholding tax on all interest earned in the personal Swiss accounts of European Union residents.In 2001 and 2002, an amnesty was offered by the government of Italy in which taxes and penalties on repatriated funds were limited on funds repatriated from Switzerland; 30 to 35 billion euros worth of deposits were returned to Italy. In 2003, a similar amnesty was approved by the government of Germany.