“Many banks in Switzerland won’t take American clients because of the pressure being exerted on the Switzerland government and the mini banking cartel that exists in Zurich..”

“Enacted in 2010, FATCA requires foreign financial institutions to tell the U.S. Internal Revenue Service about Americans’ offshore accounts worth more than $50,000.”

The reason foreign banks now refuse American clients unless they have a million or so to deposit is the ridiculously onerous reporting requirements imposed by this stupid, counter-productive legislation.

The practical effect is just to make life more difficult for Americans working overseas, and in the case of some very wealthy people, to encourage them to expatriate themselves.

Driving money out of the country doesn’t do average Americans any good.

A couple of other small examples of why this is increasingly a much less free country. Intrade no longer accepts USA based accounts because of heavy-handed regulation by the SEC, and many investment funds aren’t open to US citizens or residents because of the ridiculously expensive compliance costs.

If you want to discourage tax avoidance, why not bring the corporate and personal income tax rates down to the levels of so-called tax havens. There is something like 1.7 trillion in corporate funds currently held overseas by US companies. Imagine if that was returned and invested in the US or returned to US shareholders.

Look what happened when Britain for example had confiscatory tax rates under Labour in the 60’s / 70’s. Huge amounts of money left the country, and along with Obama-style over-regulation and coddling of trade unions, it brought the economy close to collapse.

It seems lefties never learn. The disgusting Obama administration is probably the most reactionary and economically illiterate one seen in a supposedly free country in decades.