Civilisation has Had its Day (English translation)

GIOVANNI BIRINDELLI (12.5.2013)

(Original Italian publication, 20.4.2013: L’Indipendenza, Movimento Libertario – Catallaxy Institute)

 
“Banking secrecy has had its day,” declared Pierre Moscovici, the French minister for the economy, in support of the attempt by the governments of ten (for now) European countries to put in place, “possibly within the year,” as the La Stampa newspaper reported, “a multilateral platform for the automatic exchange of bank account information which will make it possible to effectively curb tax evasion.” The history of principles that have ‘had their day’ is a long one and it invariably marches to the beat of the States’ ever-increasing need for cash.