The Ironic Behavior By the Super-Wealthy: Delicious.

Gonna need an extra-large spork to handle the latest heft of delectable irony being ladled out by the extra-rich (extra + extra = yum-o!).  (Discovered on TPMMuckraker)

The, uh, scoop, via NYT:

UBS was sued on Tuesday in a Swiss federal court by wealthy American clients seeking to prevent the disclosure of their identities as part of a tax-evasion investigation by the United States Justice Department.

The lawsuit accuses UBS and Switzerland’s financial regulator, the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority, or Finma, of violating Swiss bank secrecy laws and of conducting what Swiss law considers illegal activities with foreign authorities. It also named Peter Kurer, the chairman of UBS, and Eugen Haltiner, the chairman of Finma, as defendants.

The suit, filed by a lawyer in Zurich, Andreas Rued, on behalf of nearly a dozen American clients, underscores the growing clash between Swiss banking secrecy laws and those of the United States. Tax evasion is not considered a crime in Switzerland. Disclosing client names under Swiss law is a criminal offense and can expose bank executives and officers to fines, prison terms and other penalties.

Isn't it grand?  Rich people don't have to pay taxes because they have enough money to stash it in some super-secret vault that has given itself special, above-the-law privileges to avoid having to reveal whose money is stashed within.  And the rich people have enough money to sue THE LAW-MAKERS over having to potentially reveal their super-secret identities (gee, are they superheroes, only with a $ symbol instead of an S?), because they have alla that money.  Stashed away.  In the super-secret vault.  That they're not paying taxes on.  To cover the expenses/incomes of the law-making law-makers.  And the courts.  And the system THEY'RE RELYING ON TO KEEP COVERING UP THEIR SUPER-SECRET IDENTITIES.

I wonder if irony tastes good on ice cream.  It's certainly quite intoxicating on its own.

Comments

[cynematic]

HA--the delicious ironies abound!

I guess if they hadn't saved all that tax money that would ordinarily & rightfully be paid to the IRS, they wouldn't have all that extra money to sue those sneaky Swiss bankers.

It's just dizzying in its morally bankrupt circularity.

[deb]

HA! you said "bankrupt."

yes. the ironies really are dizzyingly circular.

(thanks for the comment, Cyn.)