Two SVP parliamentarians call for issuance of CHF 5,000 banknotes

Just as the European Union is considering the abolishment of the EUR 500 banknote, two SVP members of the Zug cantonal parliament are calling for CHF 5,000 banknotes to be issued.
 
At present the Swiss National Bank determines all matters pertaining to the issuance of banknotes including their denomination, the highest value banknote currently being the CHF 1,000 one.
 
The parliamentarians involved, Philip C. Brunner and Manuel Brandenberg, are calling for the canton to support their initiative to increase the private sphere and strengthen the freedom of the individual by ensuring the issuance of bank notes under the Federal Currency and Payment Instruments Act in addition to printing one to the value of CHF 5000.
 
As there is increasing mention of the possibility of a cashless society, both Brunner and Brandenberg think that their proposal would slow down this trend as a change in the law would be necessary for it to be fully implemented. Furthermore, they feel its inclusion in law would strengthen the role of cash as a means of payment.
 
The pair note that the current trend in this matter in the EU, “which is increasingly preoccupied with its own problems”, is in the opposite direction, with its call for the abolishment, as mentioned, of the EUR 500 banknote in a move to help prevent money laundering and tax evasion. They note the support for this in the OECD, too, which they consider to be run “in a dictatorial way”. In fact they thought that any future treaties with organisations such as the EU and OECD which might lead to Switzerland signing up to restricting cash-only transactions should be treated with extreme caution. Indeed, if already signed and sealed, they should be rescinded.
 
The SVP pair also think that, under a system of electronic currency only, the expropriation of funds could be done simply with the click of a mouse and cited the case of Cyprus where just such a move have been undertaken.
 
They feel that the use of cash is very much a part of freedom on a par with the right of every Swiss citizen to keep arms at home. “The right to hold cash and keep a personal weapon are ways of preventing the further unfurling of totalitarian powers of the state,” they wrote.