Swiss mull punitive bank tax as EU and others still debating issue

Switzerland is looking into the possibility of imposing punitive taxes on big banks if they take high risks, Swiss newspaper Tages-Anzeiger said on Monday.

Citing anonymous sources, the newspaper reported that the Swiss Finance Minister Hans-Rudolf Merz is considering bank taxes that could help prevent a repeat of the financial crisis.

Proposals being examined include a tax on bonuses as already imposed in Britain and France, as well as a so-called stability contribution, which major economies are currently considering.

Note EU-Digest: the EU was the first to come up with the idea of these punitive taxes which of course were and are heavily criticized by the world's financial and banking community. It will also be a hot issue of discussion at the upcoming G20 meeting. Unfortunately apart from lots of talk by the political establishment about regulations and punitive taxes on the banking/financial community, nothing so far has happened and all the major financial players are acting as if nothing has happened and continuing in their merry ways.

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