Toro Gmür thrashes on the left in the “Arena” and almost impales himself in the process

Yesterday’s arena was about a topic that you normally can’t win a flower pot with: taxes. On the one hand technical, complicated, maybe also a bit boring – on the other hand a controversial topic where opinions from left and right have always been made.

But this arena offered some explosive material, not least because an international journalist consortium uncovered this week that assets were hidden around the world and, accordingly, taxes evaded – also with the help of Swiss lawyers and notaries.

Almost at the same time, Parliament decided that stamp duty should be abolished in Switzerland. Or at least part of the stamp duty, the so-called emission tax. This arises when companies in Switzerland issue shares in their company. If that’s still too complicated for you: You can think of stamp duties as a kind of VAT on securities.

This tax should now be dropped. Tax losses of around CHF 250 million per year are expected, from which mainly large companies benefit, as the issue tax is only levied from equity capital of CHF 1 million.

Increasing the attractiveness of Switzerland as a financial center or a tool to widen the gap between rich and poor? Have discussed it:

Marti and Gmür in the Plaza de Toros

The show started with the more boring of the two topics. The abolition of the issuance tax. But it didn’t get boring at all, because Andrea Gmür came with a mission: she wanted to show it to the left. But really. With the aggressiveness of a frightened fighting bull, she waved her rhetorical horns after everything that the SP and Greens had planned in the last few decades in terms of financial policy.

The abolition of the emissions tax fell into the background, because in the end the question was how fair tax competition and tax policy in general is in Switzerland.

The torero in this “arena” was Samira Marti, who made it clear right at the beginning what she thought of the abolition of the emissions tax: “The center operates a salami tactic, one wants to relieve the richest slice by slice ». This has been the only goal of Swiss tax policy for 20 years. It was a “stamp duty bite”, even irresponsible, that one wanted to give a few large corporations that were not in any need further tax gifts.

«Polemic against a tax reduction »

Gmür did not put up with the allegations and blew up the counterattack: “It’s the same polemic from the past against a tax cut ». There would be competition in all areas of life, be it in sport or in culture, or even with taxes. If Switzerland plays its aces up its sleeve, it can only benefit.

A first attempt to attack the red cloth of Torero Marti, but she turned gallantly and waved it on. One could like to talk about tax optimization, if it is not only about relieving the richest, said Marti. Gmür then again accused her of polemics that the SP was “double-bottomed and morally sour” because, on the one hand, they wanted relief for the middle class, but on the other hand, they rejected proposals such as increasing the family tariff from 250 to 300 francs.

She added something on top and accused the SP that her initiatives, such as the unconditional basic income or the 99 percent initiative, would not solve any problems, but only create legal uncertainty. In addition, all rich people are automatically bad for the left.

Whether there was so much action on a rather dry topic, even Sandro Brotz was surprised, who had to speak a word of power and switched to the next block: the revelations for the Pandora Papers.

“If it’s legal, it’s legal”

In these Pandora papers it emerged that 90 Swiss law and notary offices had helped, complicated networks of offshore accounts and mailbox companies to build up in tax havens. This would have led to money laundering and tax evasion.

FDP National Councilor Olivier Feller took it easy. “There is strength in calm,” he quoted Confucius somewhat inappropriately and said that one should wait and see whether these lawyers had actually done anything illegal. He believes that there should be equality between taxpayers, but offshore accounts are basically not illegal. “If it’s legal, it’s legal.”

Actually prosecuting these lawyers, however, turns out to be difficult, because lawyers are not subject to the Money Laundering Act and you are due to legal confidentiality do not even know exactly which law firms are involved. Six months ago, parliament refused to subject lawyers to this law. Feller also voted no.

A no-go for the Greens National Councilor Franziska Ryser. “How much rest do we need?” She asked Feller, a Confucius expert. There have been so many leaks in recent years that it has long been discussed how to prevent Swiss actors from becoming henchmen in international tax evasion and money laundering. But they gave in to pressure from the lawyer lobby.

«As a country, we have a responsibility to control illegal activities and also to sanction them. “

Andrea Gmür was meanwhile still in attack mode, only her offensive strategy seemed a bit out of place on this topic. “If the Pandora Papers are about as true as the resignation of Ueli Maurer announced in the media, then I have my concerns.” The presumption of innocence applies. One only has to adapt the law when it has been completely proven that Switzerland is actually a paradise for money laundering.

Daniel Thelesklaf could not prove this completely . He is the former head of the money laundering reporting office and was hooked up from New York. But Thelesklaf made his point of view quite convincing: “Of course not everything is illegal, not every bank account is illegal, and yet the banks have learned that you can launder money with accounts”. The problem is much bigger than these 90 law firms. And that leasing companies, for example, are subject to the Money Laundering Act, but law firms are not, is incomprehensible. Switzerland must finally recognize that money laundering is a serious problem in this country:

“The Switzerland is like a football club that thinks it’s the best and then, towards the end of the season, realizes that it’s only mediocre. Or even in the lower half of the table. »

Conclusion

A real winner of this «arena» could not be identified. Perhaps it was the “arena” itself. The verbal battles were explosive and exciting, the guests were just the right choice and well prepared. Sandro Brotz also liked, he let Gmür and Marti argue, but stepped back in time and steered the discussion in new directions. So everything was done right. Or to put it with a somewhat incongruous quote from Shakespeare: All’s well that ends well.

The broadcast to look at in full length: