While on holiday in Zurich, Switzerland, I dined with a Swiss banker. Guess what the minimum deposit was for a non-resident to open an account at her bank? $1M USD. I paused for a moment, leaned over, then quietly suggested she pay for our lunch. I was joking.

She dismissed my quip, explained the ever-changing tax laws, and remarked on the steady pressure from the United States Internal Revenue Service to fully disclose the financial assets of American account holders with deposits in Switzerland. Even though internationally financed terrorism and illicit drug money laundering are factual reality, we all know the real reason for the pressure-- the Internal Revenue Service wants its cut of the cash hoard.

Just when you think the days of nameless, numbered bank accounts are over, Switzerland, Hong Kong and the always transparent USA are still ranked #1, #2, and #3, respectively, on the Financial Secrecy Index as of 2015. So before you take the $1M you just inherited to Singapore, Cayman Islands or Luxembourg, consider the words of Dorothy, "There's no place like home."