Cempaka Belanda: Luxembourg preaches transparency

"A Summary" – Apr 2, 2011 (Kryon channelled by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: Religion, Shift of Human Consciousness, 2012, Intelligent/Benevolent Design, EU, South America, 5 Currencies, Water Cycle (Heat up, Mini Ice Ace, Oceans, Fish, Earthquakes ..), Middle East, Internet, Israel, Dictators, Palestine, US, Japan (Quake/Tsunami Disasters , People, Society ...), Nuclear Power Revealed, Hydro Power, Geothermal Power, Moon, Financial Institutes (Recession, Realign integrity values ..) , China, North Korea, Global Unity,..... etc.) - (Text version)

"The Timing of the Great Shift" – Mar 21, 2009 (Kryon channelled by Lee Carroll) - (Text version)

“ … Here is another one. A change in what Human nature will allow for government. "Careful, Kryon, don't talk about politics. You'll get in trouble." I won't get in trouble. I'm going to tell you to watch for leadership that cares about you. "You mean politics is going to change?" It already has. It's beginning. Watch for it. You're going to see a total phase-out of old energy dictatorships eventually. The potential is that you're going to see that before 2013.
They're going to fall over, you know, because the energy of the population will not sustain an old energy leader ..."

"Update on Current Events" – Jul 23, 2011 (Kryon channelled by Lee Carroll) - (Subjects: The Humanization of God, Gaia, Shift of Human Consciousness, 2012, Benevolent Design, Financial Institutes (Recession, System to Change ...), Water Cycle (Heat up, Mini Ice Ace, Oceans, Fish, Earthquakes ..), Nuclear Power Revealed, Geothermal Power, Hydro Power, Drinking Water from Seawater, No need for Oil as Much, Middle East in Peace, Persia/Iran Uprising, Muhammad, Israel, DNA, Two Dictators to fall soon, Africa, China, (Old) Souls, Species to go, Whales to Humans, Global Unity,..... etc.)

"The Recalibration of Awareness – Apr 20/21, 2012 (Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: Old Energy, Recalibration Lectures, God / Creator, Religions/Spiritual systems (Catholic Church, Priests/Nun’s, Worship, John Paul Pope, Women in the Church otherwise church will go, Current Pope won’t do it), Middle East, Jews, Governments will change (Internet, Media, Democracies, Dictators, North Korea, Nations voted at once), Integrity (Businesses, Tobacco Companies, Bankers/ Financial Institutes, Pharmaceutical company to collapse), Illuminati (Started in Greece, with Shipping, Financial markets, Stock markets, Pharmaceutical money (fund to build Africa, to develop)), Shift of Human Consciousness, (Old) Souls, Women, Masters to/already come back, Global Unity.... etc.) - (Text version)

“… The Shift in Human Nature

You're starting to see integrity change. Awareness recalibrates integrity, and the Human Being who would sit there and take advantage of another Human Being in an old energy would never do it in a new energy. The reason? It will become intuitive, so this is a shift in Human Nature as well, for in the past you have assumed that people take advantage of people first and integrity comes later. That's just ordinary Human nature.

In the past, Human nature expressed within governments worked like this: If you were stronger than the other one, you simply conquered them. If you were strong, it was an invitation to conquer. If you were weak, it was an invitation to be conquered. No one even thought about it. It was the way of things. The bigger you could have your armies, the better they would do when you sent them out to conquer. That's not how you think today. Did you notice?

Any country that thinks this way today will not survive, for humanity has discovered that the world goes far better by putting things together instead of tearing them apart. The new energy puts the weak and strong together in ways that make sense and that have integrity. Take a look at what happened to some of the businesses in this great land (USA). Up to 30 years ago, when you started realizing some of them didn't have integrity, you eliminated them. What happened to the tobacco companies when you realized they were knowingly addicting your children? Today, they still sell their products to less-aware countries, but that will also change.

What did you do a few years ago when you realized that your bankers were actually selling you homes that they knew you couldn't pay for later? They were walking away, smiling greedily, not thinking about the heartbreak that was to follow when a life's dream would be lost. Dear American, you are in a recession. However, this is like when you prune a tree and cut back the branches. When the tree grows back, you've got control and the branches will grow bigger and stronger than they were before, without the greed factor. Then, if you don't like the way it grows back, you'll prune it again! I tell you this because awareness is now in control of big money. It's right before your eyes, what you're doing. But fear often rules. …”

Monday, September 19, 2011

Luxembourg preaches transparency

RNW, 19 September 2011, by Tijn Sadée

(Photo: -JvL-)

Billions and billions of euros belonging to Dutch savers are hidden away in Luxembourg bank vaults; the money is safe from detection by the Dutch tax office thanks to the banking secrecy laws in the Grand Duchy. Safe for now but for how much longer? Brussels is demanding banking transparency, but Luxembourg is resisting.

“I don’t know how they manage it, but it’s dirt cheap here," says a Dutch motorist filling up at a Luxembourg petrol station.

“It's 17 cents per litre cheaper here. Luxembourg is in the EU as well but apparently the country doesn't need the tax revenue as much as we do in the Netherlands. I guess they don't fritter their tax money away,"

He's got a carton of cheap cigarettes on the backseat and he's ready to continue his journey to southern France. Before he pulls out, he laughs and says, “I've got nothing to complain about, I'm doing all right but buying stuff cheap in Luxembourg is part of the fun of driving to France."

Secrecy laws

When ordinary people think about Luxembourg, two things spring to mind; low income tax and low VAT. When rich people think about Luxembourg, the country's banking secrecy laws spring to mind.

According to Fernand Grulms of Luxembourg for Finance, Dutch savers have an estimated 50 billion euros stashed in the Grand Duchy’s banks, “it could be a bit more, or it could be a bit less," he shrugs. The Luxembourg banking sector manages 320 billion euros for European savers and, thanks to the country’s secrecy laws, they are all anonymous and evade taxation in their countries of residence.

Tradition

Brussels passed a series of measures in 2005 to stop cross-border tax dodging,. Luxembourg and Austria, which also maintains banking secrecy laws, demanded exceptions. Since then, Luxembourg has voluntarily contributed revenues on behalf of their - still anonymous - clients to other EU member states. Fernand Grulms: “Financial privacy; it does still exist and our banking secrecy laws still on the books.”

"It's an old tradition that we don't want to just give up," says Pierre Leyers, chief economics editor of the Luxembourger Wort newspaper.

“It's not about tax evasion but about privacy. Rich people prefer it when the tax office doesn't know exactly how much money they have."

Double standards

However, the European commission has had enough of ‘traditions’ in the Grand Duchy and criticism, particularly of Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker, is mounting. It is ironic that in his role as chair of the Eurozone countries, Mr Juncker has repeatedly urged eurozone leaders to harmonise their financial policies and called for more transparency.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s criticism was particularly biting:

“The time for double standards is over. You can't very well tell everyone else to be transparent and still maintain banking secrecy in your own country. It's just not possible, Monsieur Juncker.”

At home in Luxembourg, Jean-Claude Juncker still enjoys enormous popularity, even after 16 years as Prime Minister. The motto in the country is ‘we want to stay just who we are’ and most Luxembourgers feel safest with Mr Juncker at the helm.

Stefan van Look, chair of the Dutch Association in Luxembourg:

“I regularly see the prime minister going out for a sandwich at lunch time, no bodyguards whatsoever, and he always stops to say hello."

Small and smart

There are around 4,000 Dutch nationals living in Luxembourg and the vast majority of them work in the financial sector.

"We do pay less taxes here than in the Netherlands but make no mistake, Luxembourg is not a tax paradise. I look at it like this: if you're small, you have to be smart."

The EU is considering ways of expanding the 2005 guidelines, all of which will further impinge on banking secrecy laws. Stefan van Look comments: “Of course other EU countries want to try and get rid of Luxembourg’s banking laws; it’s better for their own banking sectors.”

Fernand Grulms is vehemently opposed to what he calls ‘discriminatory regulations’:

“If the European Commission wants to force us to give up our banking secrecy then it will have to conclude agreements with countries outside the European Union, such as the one agreed with Switzerland. If there are countries outside the European Union that maintain banking secrecy, Dutch savers will simply move their money across a different set of borders. Is that advantageous for anyone within the European Union? I don’t think so.”

Related Article:

Swiss to supply bank information to US: report

Germany, Switzerland reach deal on tax evaders