VOA标准英语2009年-Swiss Banks Call Tax Evader Label Unfair

The Swiss Bankers Association has launched a blistering¹ attack against the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development calling the OECD's treatment of Switzerland disgraceful. The bankers say the OECD's threat to put Switzerland on a blacklist of countries that allegedly shield tax evaders is unacceptable and seriously damages the OECD's credibility.
　
Pierre Mirabaud is seen during a press conference in Geneva, Switzerland, 27 Mar³ 2009

The President of the Swiss Bankers Association, Pierre Mirabaud, categorically denies that Switzerland is a tax haven⁴. He says 99.9 percent of tax evaders do not have a bank account in Switzerland.

He says Switzerland is an easy target to attack because there is no political risk involved. He says the Swiss have no powerful lobby in the United States or the European Union that it can mobilize.

"As a banker I know what my clients are in my bank and I talk to a lot of bankers in Switzerland and I see what they are doing," said Mirabaud. "And, I can tell you that it is completely absurd to think that the Swiss private banking⁵ industry is based on tax evasion⁶. This, I am sorry to say, is a very good story, but it is not the truth."

Swiss bank secrecy⁷ laws made neutral Switzerland a popular destination for capital during World War II, and for generations the confidentiality⁸ of bank customers has been a hallmark of the country's banking business.

Earlier this month, Switzerland agreed to ease its rules on banking secrecy. It said it would cooperate with other countries on cases of tax evasion and would no longer protect wealthy foreigners accused of stashing⁹ billions of dollars in secret bank vaults¹⁰.

Switzerland said it would adopt international rules on tax cooperation to avoid being blacklisted at next week's G-20 meeting in London.

Mirabaud accuses Germany and France of backing the move to blacklist Switzerland in order to divert attention from their own tax loopholes and overly complicated tax systems.

He says efforts by these two nations to punish Switzerland for failing to cooperate in tax investigations¹¹ stems from their jealousy¹² of his country's financial industry.

He says the OECD has had a long established blacklist of suspect countries, but Switzerland has never been on that list.

"And, all of a sudden because Germany and France asked Mr. Guria to change the list, they did it without discussing it neither in the commission, which treats the question of tax things, nor with the country which were going to be put on the list, like Luxembourg, who was not on the list before-like Austria, which was not on the list before," said Mirabaud.

Mirabeaud says, as far as he knows, Switzerland, Luxembourg and Austria will not appear on the G-20 blacklist and will not be liable for economic sanctions.

U.S. President Barack Obama supports moves to crack down on tax havens¹³ around the world that cost the United States an estimated $100 billion in tax revenue every year.

Relations between Washington and Bern have dipped over illegal activities committed by Switzerland's largest bank, UBS in the United States. The American government has been pressuring Switzerland to release the names of alleged² tax evaders.

Mirabaud says before pointing fingers at others, the United States should put its own house in order. He says he believes there are more tax evaders with accounts in Florida and Delaware than in Switzerland.

1 blistering   

adj.酷热的；猛烈的；使起疱的；可恶的v.起水疱；起气泡；使受暴晒n.[涂料] 起泡

参考例句：

• The runners set off at a blistering pace. 赛跑运动员如脱缰野马般起跑了。
• This failure is known as preferential wetting and is responsible for blistering. 这种故障称为优先吸湿，是产生气泡的原因。 来自辞典例句

2 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

3 mar   

vt.破坏，毁坏，弄糟

参考例句：

• It was not the custom for elderly people to mar the picnics with their presence.大人们照例不参加这样的野餐以免扫兴。
• Such a marriage might mar your career.这样的婚姻说不定会毁了你的一生。

4 haven   

n.安全的地方，避难所，庇护所

参考例句：

• It's a real haven at the end of a busy working day.忙碌了一整天后，这真是一个安乐窝。
• The school library is a little haven of peace and quiet.学校的图书馆是一个和平且安静的小避风港。

5 banking   

n.银行业，银行学，金融业

参考例句：

• John is launching his son on a career in banking.约翰打算让儿子在银行界谋一个新职位。
• He possesses an extensive knowledge of banking.他具有广博的银行业务知识。

6 evasion   

n.逃避，偷漏(税)

参考例句：

• The movie star is in prison for tax evasion.那位影星因为逃税而坐牢。
• The act was passed as a safeguard against tax evasion.这项法案旨在防止逃税行为。

7 secrecy   

n.秘密，保密，隐蔽

参考例句：

• All the researchers on the project are sworn to secrecy.该项目的所有研究人员都按要求起誓保守秘密。
• Complete secrecy surrounded the meeting.会议在绝对机密的环境中进行。

8 confidentiality   

n.秘而不宣，保密

参考例句：

• They signed a confidentiality agreement. 他们签署了一份保守机密的协议。
• Cryptography is the foundation of supporting authentication, integrality and confidentiality. 而密码学是支持认证、完整性和机密性机制的基础。

9 stashing   

v.贮藏( stash的现在分词 )；隐藏；藏匿；藏起

参考例句：

10 vaults   

n.拱顶( vault的名词复数 )；地下室；撑物跳高；墓穴

参考例句：

• It was deposited in the vaults of a bank. 它存在一家银行的保险库里。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They think of viruses that infect an organization from the outside.They envision hackers breaking into their information vaults. 他们考虑来自外部的感染公司的病毒，他们设想黑客侵入到信息宝库中。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。

12 jealousy   

n.妒忌，嫉妒，猜忌

参考例句：

• Some women have a disposition to jealousy.有些女人生性爱妒忌。
• I can't support your jealousy any longer.我再也无法忍受你的嫉妒了。

13 havens   

n.港口，安全地方( haven的名词复数 )v.港口，安全地方( haven的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Your twenty havens would back out at the last minute anyhow. 你那二十个避难所到了最后一分钟也要不认帐。 来自辞典例句
• Using offshore havens to avoid taxes and investor protections. 使用海面的港口避免税和投资者保护。 来自互联网