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

The Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes has released several new reports on the results of recently conducted reviews of the implementation of international tax information exchange standards. The mechanism of implementation and legal frameworks for international tax transparency and information exchange in nine different countries have been reviewed by the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes, with the results being released on May 1st. The newly published reports outlined the results of ... Read More

There have been over 1000 cases of suspected money laundering activity or suspicions of serious financial crimes reported to authorities in Switzerland. According to the figures made available in the latest report published by the Money Laundering Reporting Office of Switzerland (MROS), in the year 2010 there were 1 159 reports submitted to the Office of suspicious financial activity and transactions. Analysis of the report shows that the number of occurrences represents a 29.4 percent ... 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