Switzerland is set to step into a new era for its finance industry, as German and Swiss tax authorities come to an agreement in their long running dispute regarding cross border tax evasion and bank secrecy. Swiss banks will soon shell out CHF 2 billion (EUR 1.9 billion) to Germany to cover lost tax revenues resultant from German taxpayers hiding their assets in Swiss bank accounts. The payment comes as a part of a deal reached between German and Swiss tax authorities ... Read More

Switzerland has implemented new standards and procedures for the sharing of tax information, and could soon offer greater levels of cooperation to foreign tax authorities conducting investigations into tax evasion. On June 6th the Federal Council of Switzerland adopted the new Federal Act on International Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters, updating the country’s international information sharing standards, and ensuring that these standards are on par with those advocated out by the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The new Act mandates that Swiss ... Read More

Switzerland is taking steps to ease the process for overseas governments to request details and information on foreign taxpayers with Swiss bank accounts. On February 15th the Federal Department of Finance of Switzerland issued an online statement regarding a change in the rules surrounding the granting of assistance to overseas governments in the process of tax evasion investigations. According to the new regulations, Swiss tax authorities will relax the conditions under which they share information regarding foreign taxpayers holding Swiss bank accounts. This ... Read More

The UK is set to impose harsher penalties on tax offenses committed by UK taxpayers through the use of entities incorporated offshore jurisdictions, in some cases even doubling the fines. However, questions have arisen regarding the potential effectiveness and ultimate motivation behind the revised rules. On January 31st the the UK HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) released a statement stating that from the April 6th 2011 is scheduled to impose a steep hike in the penalties imposed on taxpayers for non-compliance with tax ... Read More

Tax evasion, trade mispricing, bribes, and other forms of illicit financial activity caused nearly USD 1.26 trillion to flow from developing nations into wealthier countries in 2008, with the rate growing by an average of 18 percent since the year 2000. Last week Global Financial Integrity (GFI), an independent international body aimed at eliminating the occurrence of illicit cross-border flow of capital, released the latest annual report on the severity of illicit outflows across the developing world. The report stated that the magnitude of ... Read More