BERN - Switzerland needs to shift its fiscal focus away from personal income taxes towards taxes on consumption and real estate. On January 24th the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development released the latest annual Economic Survey of Switzerland, containing a summary of the country’s current economic position and recommendations for future fiscal policies. According to the authors of the report, Switzerland has experienced healthy and balanced economic growth in the last few years, despite seeing a strong appreciation of the Swiss franc. ... Read More

BERN - Selected Swiss banks are being offered the opportunity to avoid prosecution by US authorities in exchange for information on their operations with US clients. On December 18th the international mass media revealed that 11 Swiss banks were presented with the deal on December 16th, which will see US authorities drop their investigations into the bank’s practices, if the institutions agree by December 20th to divulge details on their US based clients and operation. Swiss banks which agree to the deal will ... Read More

LONDON - The tax deal between the UK and Switzerland is coming under fire as public campaigners claim that the agreement is rife with loopholes. On October 25th the international anti - tax evasion group the Tax Justice Network (TJN) published a new report condemning the recently signed tax agreement between Switzerland and the UK. According to the TJN, the new agreement will not lead to any significant reductions in tax evasion, and could even help some taxpayers to better hide their ... Read More

Swiss bankers are breathing a sigh of relief as the banking giant Credit Suisse reaches a multimillion dollar settlement with German tax authorities. In a statement made by representatives of Credit Suisse on September 19th in Dusseldorf, the bank announced that a solution has been reached to the ongoing animosity with German tax authorities. The disputes centered on accusations that Credit Suisse staff knowingly aided German taxpayers in evading their tax obligations in Germany through the use of Credit Suisse bank accounts. ... Read More

The UK could soon follow Germany in signing a tax deal with Switzerland in order to reduce the occurrence of cross border tax evasion while allowing Switzerland to maintain its bank confidentiality regulations. The president of the Swiss Bankers Association Patrick Odier has revealed that Swiss and UK tax authorities are only a few weeks away from concluding negotiations over a new cooperative tax deal. Under proposals raised in the negotiations, Swiss banks would be responsible for applying a flat rate withholding ... Read More