It appears that the same honorable commitee that tried to reinforce (unsucessfully, I regret) the Constitutional need for a popular vote to approve treaties in Switzerland has raised a triple referendum against treaties with Germany, UK and Austria. http://fr.referendum.ch/index.php (http://www.asin.ch/index.php)
La façon de procéder précipitée, prétendument au service de l’économie suisse et de sa place [fiancière, le] Conseil fédéral n’est qu’un harcèlement des citoyens suisses. Sur le plan international, ces accords sont uniques. Aucun pays n’encaisse les impôts pour des gouvernements étrangers.
By proceeding in a precipitated manner, pretending to be in service of the Swiss economy and its financial sector, the Federal Council is nothing but a harrassment of Swiss Citizens. On an international scale, these conventions are unique. No nation collects taxes for foreign governments.
Die Steuer-Verträge sind unter ausländischem Druck und in einem Klima der Erpressung ausgehandelt worden. Mehrmals gab die Schweizer Regierung nach und akzeptierte Nachverhandlungen zum Nachteil der Schweiz.
Die Interessen der souveränen Schweiz sind in einem Wirtschaftskrieg gegen die erfolgreiche Schweiz ungenügend verteidigt worden. (http://www.referendum.ch/index.php?lang=de)
If you are Swiss, I would urge you to download the signature form. Duly fill out, and sign, AND SEND IN, and get anyone else you can to sign as well AND SEND IN:
Comité référendaire, Stop aux rapaces fiscaux étrangers
Case postale 669, 3000 Berne 31
http://www.referendum.ch/download/unterschriftenbogen_referendum_steuern.pdf or in French http://fr.referendum.ch/download/signez_maintenant_referendum.pdf. Remember, this is not yet a vote, but we need as many signatures as we can get to force a popular vote and all of the debate that goes with such a vote. One may obtain official sheets via http://fr.referendum.ch/feuille_de_signatures.php. These will provide an “Nich Frankieren / Ne pas affranchir / Non affrancare” addressage that one could tape to the front of an envelope containing as many signature sheets as one can gather. A seperate signature sheet is required to document refrendum against each of the 3 tax conventions.
DO IT! NOW OR NEVER! WE HAVE A LITTLE OVER 3 WEEKS TO SHOW THE FEDERAL COUNCIL AND THE WORLD THAT WE WILL NOT PUT UP WITH THREATS TO OUR SOVEREIGNTY!
Also, now would be a good time to encourage the commitee http://www.asin.ch/ to raise a constitutional initative forbidding the application of unfair US extraterritorial reporting and taxation laws. The text of such an initiative should be drated in such a way that it would extend to all other countries attempting to apply such laws.
If you are Swiss and do not speak a Swiss national language (yes, it happens sometimes) I can translate for you: stopdoubletaxation@yahoo.fr (JDT, nom de plume).
The finance minister of the German state Nordrhein-Westfalen critisizes the tax convention with Switzerland, saying that the fact that it goes into effect in 6 months gives people plenty of time to move their money and cover their tracks:
http://www.rts.ch/info/suisse/4221687-l-accord-fiscal-entre-la-suisse-et-l-allemagne-a-nouveau-critique.html
In the meantime, the Federal Justice Minister of Germany (it was the Laender i.e. State governments that were purchasing stolen bank data) wants to institute a law criminalizing the “fencing” of bank data and its purchase and use.
Swiss-French TV: http://www.rts.ch/info/monde/4238691-le-gouvernement-allemand-veut-punir-par-la-loi-l-achat-de-donnees-volees.html
Swiss-German: http://www.tagesanzeiger.ch/ausland/europa/Deutsche-Justizministerin-will-CDKaeufe-bestrafen/story/13958958
RTS Radio discussions (in French) about recent theft of confidential bank data from Julius Baer: http://www.rts.ch/info/monde/4238691-le-gouvernement-allemand-veut-punir-par-la-loi-l-achat-de-donnees-volees.html
Also, I found an interesting new blog “The international journal for independent thought, ethical standards, moral responsibility, and for the promotion and respect of public international law, human rights and humanitarian law” Here is their discussion of German purchases of confidential bank data: http://www.currentconcerns.ch/index.php?id=1931