Tax
Switzerland Says Talks Will Soon Begin On Sharing Bank Data
The Swiss government has said that it will soon begin negotiations on the introduction of the automatic exchange of information on tax matters with the EU, the US and other countries.
The Swiss government has said that it will soon begin
negotiations on the introduction of the automatic exchange of
information on tax matters with the EU, US and other
countries.
"During its meeting today, the Federal Council adopted definitive
negotiation mandates for introducing the new global standard for
the automatic exchange of information in tax matters with partner
states. The competent parliamentary committees and the cantons
were consulted on the mandates in recent months. Negotiations
with partner states should commence shortly," the Swiss Federal
Council said in a statement.
The council said that domestic bank client confidentiality will
not be affected by the implementation of the new global
standard.
Swiss financial institutions could commence collecting the
account data of foreign taxpayers in 2017 and the first exchange
of information could take place in 2018, subject to parliament
and possibly voter approval, the council said.
A first group of over 40 states, known as early adopters, have
announced that they will start collecting data in 2016 and
exchange it for the first time in 2017.
“Switzerland welcomes the new international standard, to which it
contributed actively. It allows for a level playing field in the
competition between financial centres, as these regulations apply
to all, and is an important instrument in international efforts
to combat tax evasion,” the council said.
In recent years, Switzerland has been under huge pressure from
the UK and the US to bring an end to bank secrecy.
The latest development underlines the huge changes the Alpine
state has undergone as it moves towards phasing out its tradition
of bank secrecy, opening the way for the automatic exchange of
bank data.
In May, the Swiss government adopted draft negotiation mandates
to put in force a recently agreed global accord on automatically
exchanging information on tax, a move seen as signalling the
possible end of Swiss bank secrecy.
The council said that the decision follows consultations with the Federal Assembly and cantons on these drafts in recent months, with a vast majority supporting the draft mandates.