The "Public Debt Issue_Who is in debt & to Whom? plus questions of probity concerning elected members of the French Assembly(Deputés) or Senate(Senateurs)

For my bilingual readers here is a video link to the enquiry reported by Elise Lucet of France's F2-Antenne 2  public television.

Subject: Tax Evasion or Tax Optimisation or more to be more specific MINIMISATION
NB. Of course the CFO's-Chief Financial Officer's job is to maximise financial leverage and ensure money is well spent within the company, but there is something called "good will", apparently long forgotten. The public must question what this entails and what the company owes the public (customers) and the country (reputation, renown..) eg. the private assets of Greece outlay the Greek public debt!)      

Summary: In 2008 a computer expert at HSBC bank in Geneva, Hervé Falciani, left the bank with a long  list of clients world wide notably those who are strongly suspected of Tax Fraud. The list was in the form of three hard discs, at current data storage performance, that's a lot of data.

Mr Falciani is accused of stealing this data by the Switzerland Justice Department, he apparently has been menaced by death and placed under police protection.

The TV enquiry is also looks at companies implanted in France which are seen to be pushing the limits between Tax Optimisation and Fraud.

Such an enquiry is particularly timely since all Europeans, and certainly in France, are under increasing pressure to "make efforts" to bring our Economies into Equilibrium.

As in all well managed affairs, private business or public affairs the example must come from the top, the "so called leaders".

LEADERSHIP IN QUESTION and I do not intend to do any French President Bashing

Today good leadership is more and more questionable. In spite of the encouraging start to french president F. Hollands reduction in salary -30% (NB. N.Sarkosy increased his presidential salary by something like 140% "I won the battle and take the spoils"? There are of course other factors to be looked into in order to determine the salaried and perks of all elected representatives in total transparence in order to have the clout to change what must be changed)

Even more flagrant is the still apparently excessive and shady treatment attributed-co-opted in the boardrooms of  directors of CAC 40 (40 top companies and their top brass, and collaborators, many of whom may hide behind their financial directors or quality assurance directors in the case of accusation of "fraudulent" behaviour.

This blog author wrote and published in particular:

TWO CASE STUDIES

Two examples of companies present in France were highlighted:
Amazon & BAT British & American Tobacco
Of course pillar of "EU ism" Luxembourg is a main player in this "fraud- tax minimisation"
Amazon have unfair advantage over the small librarian-bookseller.
Having seen this TV programme I shall take Amazon's publicity from my blogs.
BAT is another kettle of fish - Tobacco smoking is proven to be  responsible for a greatly  increased probability of lung cancer, arterial damage and heart failure risk. What motivated me to blog and add my voice to echo this TV enquiry was the present of 3 elected members wined and dinned by BAT
 (one cannot say at BAT's expense since we know where the bribe money comes from, ie the poor cigarette addict.)
while France is actively engaged in increasing tax on cigarettes in order to encourage people to stop smoking (my comment or help finance the cost of cancer care and if possible cure).
M. André Santini, longtime deputy and senator, with a very strong personality (some may say "grande geule" and certainly a fat tummy).and very out spoken in favour of freedom to smoke (even knowing that manufactures do all they can to increase addiction) M. Patrick Balkany, Maire of Levallois-Perret the commune the most  indebted in France and a third person whose name will most certainly figure in the video.
(Bribery if not openly discussed is possible just around the corner).

SUMMARY
Tax Evasion or Tax Optimisation or more to be more specific MINIMISATION
NB. Of course the CFO's job is to maximise financial leverage and ensure money is well spent within the company, but there is something called "good will", apparently long forgotten. The public must question what this entails and what the company owes the public (customers) and the country (reputation, renown..) eg. the private assets of Greece outlay the Greek public debt!)    

INTOLERABLE

PS. Now that I have echoed the deserved slating the national players there are other "Top Dogs" who cry for efforts to be made, the public is now asking our EU representatives and the Salaried EU. Commission what financial effort has or is being enforced as a signal that the EU is playing its leadership role properly, yes properly.
  

Le scandale de l'évasion fiscale : révélations sur les milliards qui nous manquent (in French)