Switzerland objects to Obama campaign film slur

Tues. Aug. 21, 2012

AFP - Switzerland hit back Tuesday at a US presidential election campaign video that portrays the country as a tax haven.

In the video, a character named Miss Swiss Bank Account describes the Republican candidate Mitt Romney as a "boss millionaire with accounts everywhere", the ATS news agency reported.

The film gives "the impression that having a bank account in Switzerland is dubious in itself and its only aim is to hide money from the tax authorities," Switzerland's Federal Department for Foreign Affairs (DFAE) said.

Switzerland's Washington embassy reportedly expressed its unhappiness at the clip to the Obama team, ATS said.

In the clip, entitled "Romney Girl", the singing protagonist hails the Romney approach of "tax shelters everywhere", while a list of countries appear on screen showing Romney with bank accounts in Switzerland, Luxembourg, the Cayman Islands and Ireland.

The film is a fresh attempt to hurt the Republican candidate who dragged his heels over releasing his tax returns and then only produced his returns for the last two years.

In July, US magazine Vanity Fair revealed that Romney had a Swiss bank account worth $3 million, according to his 2010 tax return, ATS said.