Three Australian men are under trial for allegedly evading AUD3.7 million in taxes, which was brought back into Australia through ATM withdrawals and orchestrated through a Swiss-based accountant. On January 18th a court case was opened concerning Daniel Aran Stoten, Adam John Hargraves and Glenn Luke Hargraves, who are alleged to have evaded nearly AUD4 million in taxes over the period of four years. The three men, who ran a phonebook publishing company, are accused of grossly overstating their business expenses and ... Read More

The Swiss bank UBS has issued a new Code of Conduct to its employees expressedly prohibiting them from assisting clients in any form of tax evasion. In an effort to restore its tarnished reputation UBS has publically announced that all its employees must be aware and follow the bank’s new Code of Conduct, which deals with several issues including cross border business, compliance with international tax laws, and client confidentiality. The 12 page document, which was released on January 12th, must be read ... Read More

On December 18th, 2009, the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) released the fourth report covering state aid granted in Iceland, Lichtenstein and Norway, for the period between 2004 to the end of the 2008 year. The paper was prepared in co-operation with European Commission and includes comparisons with countries of the EU. A total of €2,234.88 million was granted in state aid across the three surveyed countries in 2008, indicating an overall increase in grants across the countries. 98.9 percent of this amount ... Read More

Increasing fiscal transparency was an important issue in the economic and political spectrum of the 2009 year. With only a few weeks remaining in 2009, December happened to be one of the most active month of the passing year, with Governments around the globe completing efforts made in negotiations of Double Taxation Agreements (DTA) and Tax Information Exchange Agreements (TIEA). In an unprecedented step, Switzerland wishes to cease ratification of its DTA with France in protest at the French authorities' handling of account ... Read More

As a new and unpredicted move, the media has discussed the possibility that UBS could relocate to outside of Switzerland. Allegations have surfaced that during a speech given at a closed-door Zurich Business Club event on November 26th, Oswald Gruebel, Chief Executive of UBS, told an audience of prominent business figures that if the Swiss government creates too many new regulatory demands on major banks, UBS could relocate its headquarters to a more favorable jurisdiction. The chief reason behind such a move ... Read More

Swiss bank UBS has confirmed that the governments of the UK and Australia, amongst others, are seeking information about possible tax evasion from their own nationals. According to the notes within the UBS third quarter report, following the settlement of its case with the US Department of Justice and Internal Revenue Services, UBS began to receive request from other jurisdictions for similar information. The UBS report said that "In particular, the revenue services of the UK and Australia have served upon UBS and ... Read More

The Swiss Government has put a halt on Double Taxation Agreement (DTA) procedures with Italy. Following Italy's raid on Swiss banks located in Italy, the Swiss government announced on November 1st that it has suspended its negotiations regarding their DTA with Italy. In retaliation, Giulio Tremonti, Italy's Finance Minister, threatened to “dry out” Lugano, Switzerland's most prominent financial center after Zurich and Geneva. Hans-Rudolf Merz, Swiss President and Finance Minister, said "The accord was ready for ratification from our side. But now the ... Read More