The News Corner of the Swiss Gun Collectors Association
Authorities reopen army-issue gun debate
The army says it wants to work more closely with the cantonal authorities to prevent shootings with army-issue guns.
A spokesman told the SonntagsZeitung newspaper that army chief, André Blattmann, wants the cantonal justice departments to inform the army of any criminal investigations involving men still on active service. Due to the set-up of Switzerland’s militia army, men on active service are allowed to keep their army-issue firearms at home.
Currently, Swiss law does not allow the justice authorities to reveal details of investigations. Information can only be handed over to the army, for example, once a person has been sentenced.
Karin Keller-Sutter, president of the cantonal conference of police directors, said the army and cantons would set up a working group to see how the flow of information could be improved.
Keller-Sutter said the aim was to find ways “to inform the army of potentially dangerous soldiers before they are sentenced”.
In February, voters threw out an initiative to ban the keeping of army-issue guns at home. However, the debate was given new impetus on November 4 when a young man shot his girlfriend dead with his army rifle.
The man already had a police record for petty crimes and in 2008 received a suspended sentence for issuing threats and damaging property.
November 13, 2011Boudry (NE): Three friends are playing with fake weapons when one brings out his army-issue weapon and loads it. A man, 23, is killed when one of those present, thinking the gun is a fake, points it at his chest and pulls the trigger.
November 4, 2011 St Leonard (VS): A woman, 21, is shot and killed by her boyfriend with his military weapon during a fight. The man had prior convictions for damaging property and issuing threats.
May 24, 2011Schafhausen (BE): A police officer, 39, is killed and his colleague injured during an eviction operation. The gunman had been thrown out of the army but allowed to keep his weapon.
Key facts
Estimations of the number of firearms in circulation in Switzerland range upwards from 1.2 million.
Army-issue weapons are said to be involved in the deaths of more than 300 people in Switzerland every year.
February’s stop gun violence initiative was aimed at introducing a strict licensing system for the use of firearms and sought a ban on the purchase of automatic weapons and pump action shotguns.
It also called for the creation of a central register for firearms, instead of a cantonal system and a ban on storing army-issue guns at home.
The proposal was launched in 2007 by a broad alliance of NGOs and had the backing of centre-left political parties.
Stop gun violence initiative final results:
Yes: 43.7% No: 56.3%
Turnout: 48.8%
A history of the Vatican's Swiss Guard
The Swiss Guard, the world’s smallest army, was formed in
1506 by Pope Julius II.
Switzerland may be wealthy now, but 500 years ago it was a poor country whose young men often resorted to seeking work abroad as mercenaries. Swiss mercenaries were in high demand in Renaissance Europe, but the pontifical Swiss Guard is the last remaining legacy of the tradition. The tiny
force is responsible for the Pope’s safety, including the security of the Apostolic Palace, and acts as the de facto armed forces of Vatican City, the world’s tiniest sovereign state.
The 130 members of the Swiss Guard are required to be Catholic, unmarried Swiss citizens who have completed Swiss military service.They need to be at least 5ft 8in tall and between the ages of 19 and 30.
The commandant of the Swiss Guard raised the prospect in 2009 that the corps might one day admit female recruits, but said it remained a long way off. Guards are expected to be ready to lay down their lives in defence of the Pope and are supposed to be of impeccable moral and religious character. They can be seen on guard outside the Vatican every day, dressed in striped blue, red and gold uniforms and carrying halberds as their traditional weapons. They are also equipped with modern firearms – the same handguns and machine guns which are used by the Swiss army. The idea that the uniform was designed by Michelangelo is a myth – it is simply a legacy of military uniforms that were common in Europe during the Renaissance.
The Swiss Guard’s most significant military engagement was in 1527 when 190 guards died fighting Holy Roman Empire troops during the Sack of Rome, allowing Clement VII to flee to safety from the Vatican through a stone passageway.The Swiss Guard’s role as the Pope’s armed force is complemented by the Vatican’s Corps of Gendarmes, which was established in 1816 by Pope Pius VII and whose recruits are Italian.
For more on Swiss Lifestyle and News click on the link below
Nov 29, 2011
Tax law pushes US expats to give up passport
Growing numbers of American expatriates are renouncing their US citizenship over a controversial new tax law and ever more burdensome fiscal and reporting obligations.
Jackie Bugnion, director of American Citizens Abroad, talks about the backlash from United States expats and the financial sector to the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), designed to fight tax evasion. This summer the Geneva-based group launched a campaign to repeal FATCA, which they describe as “misconceived” and “dangerous for the US economy”.
US lawmakers adopted FATCA in March 2010 to crack down on US citizens hiding their assets overseas. But banks and business people who are supposed to enforce it on behalf of the US tax man are worried about its costly administrative burden and the fact that it could also clash with domestic privacy laws. FATCA has already been postponed one year and is due to be phased in from January 1, 2014.
The US is the only industrialised country that requires their overseas citizens to pay taxes.
How can this law, which aims to crack down on tax evasion and net billions of dollars of badly needed tax revenue, work against the interests of the US, as you argue?
Jackie Bugnion: The FATCA works 100 per cent in favour of the US, putting the total legal risk and financial compliance on foreign financial institutions (FFI), turning them into arms of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
But it will fail as FFI will say it’s just too expensive. The consequence will be that they cut out US clients and stop investing in the US.
The US government projects that it can possibly secure additional tax revenues worth $8 billion (SFr7.5 billion) over ten years, but I have seen estimates of the cost of implementation for FFI of $200-500 billion, plus $10 billion per year for the filing requirements.
It’s the wrong time to impose this kind of thing. It will especially hit foreign banks in Europe, which are very weak right now.
What are the chances the FACTA does not get enforced?
J.B.: Of course my hope is that it is not enforced at all, but the chances that it gets delayed are fairly high as the Treasury Department was supposed to come up with the final regulations for FFI in November but are now saying December or early January.
Many FFI are not doing anything to prepare until they get these, as it’s such a costly process. And afterwards they’ll need at least 18 months or two years to set up computer programmes for the operation. This will end up impacting not only on the sidelines of financial institutions but hitting all operations.
What are the biggest concerns heard among US expats in Switzerland?
J.B.: At a recent town hall meeting in Geneva we asked the 130 people how many had problems maintaining or opening a Swiss bank account and 30 raised their hands. This will accelerate as the FATCA date approaches, as more and more banks will simply say it’s not worth having US clients as they don’t want the reporting or legal risk concerns.
For investment accounts large Swiss banks have set up separate subsidiaries and anyone who is American has to go there, but these have very high costs.
Also, if an American overseas wants to go into a joint venture or partnership they find it very difficult. Under FATCA, the corporation has to report to the IRS any US holder if they have over ten per cent of a foreign operation.
Another big issue is green card-holders – foreigners who have worked in the US who have gone back home. After six months or one year their card is no longer valid to return to work in the US but the IRS says they still have to file taxes. Under FACTA the banks have to prove that their clients are not Americans. Their real concern is that green-card holders will simply not announce they had a green card.
