On October 10 they are expected to remove Switzerland from the grey list that includes countries that have committed to change their tax rules to make them compliant with EU standards.
Switzerland has delivered on its commitments, the document said on Friday, acknowledging that a tax reform passed last year – and due to be in force from 2020 – was sufficient to meet EU demands.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) will be dropped from the blacklist, which includes jurisdictions that have failed to cooperate with the EU on tax matters. The Pacific archipelago of the Marshall Islands will also be removed from that list.
That would leave nine jurisdictions on the list: Belize, Fiji, Oman, Samoa, Trinidad and Tobago, Vanuatu and the three US territories of American Samoa, Guam and the US Virgin Islands.
Blacklisted states face reputational damage and stricter controls on transactions with the EU.
Tax reforms
The 28-nation EU set up a blacklist and a grey list of tax havens in December 2017 after revelations of widespread avoidance schemes used by corporations and wealthy individuals to lower their tax bills. The lists are regularly reviewed to take account of overhauls or to add new jurisdictions.
The EU placed Switzerland on the grey list in December 2017. There had been fears that Switzerland would be black-listed after voters rejected corporate tax reforms earlier in the year. Voters believed the new regime would unfairly benefit big companies at the expense of smaller firms and individuals.
Albania, Costa Rica, Mauritius and Serbia are also set to be removed from the grey list next week. Dozens of jurisdictions around the world remain listed, including the Cayman Islands, Turkey, the Bahamas and Bermuda.
If they fail to deliver on their commitments by set deadlines, they are moved to the blacklist.
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Switzerland placed on EU tax ‘grey list’
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The European Union has deemed Switzerland to be partially compliant on tax matters.
Direct trains to run from Zurich to Florence and Livorno
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The Swiss Federal Railways and Trenitalia will offer direct trains from Zurich to Florence and Livorno and vice versa from 2026.
Number of Swiss armed forces exceeds specified limit
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The Swiss armed forces had an effective headcount of around 147,000 as of March 1, 2024. This exceeds the upper limit of 140,000 specified in the army organisation by 5%.
More than 400,000 cross-border commuters now work in Switzerland
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More than half of all cross-border commuters were resident in France (around 57%). Large proportions also lived in Italy (23%) and Germany (around 16%).
Amherd and von der Leyen discuss ongoing Swiss-EU negotiations
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Swiss President Viola Amherd and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen have met and talked about the ongoing negotiations between Bern and Brussels.
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One million francs, 34 million euros and around 830 kilos of gold: this is the fortune that two Swiss nationals are accused of having moved across borders for at least four years.
Girls in female-dominated classes earn more later on
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At the age of 30, women from school classes with a 55% share of girls earn $350 more per year than women from classes with a 45% share of girls.
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Geneva-based luxury goods group Richemont reported a downturn in performance for the first half of its 2024/25 financial year. Both sales and profit declined.
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EU tax grey list splits Federal Council
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“I rate the significance of the list as negligible,” Maurer said on Sunday in an interview with the Zentralschweiz am SonntagExternal link and the Ostschweiz am Sonntag, adding there was “absolutely no reason” for Switzerland to be on the list. The EU’s decision changed “absolutely nothing”, said Maurer, who expected no negative consequences for Switzerland…
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“Today I met several bankers in Zurich. They were all shaking their heads saying, ‘In 40 years of operations we’ve never had a crisis like this one – a war like the one being waged against the Swiss banking system. We’re in the artillery sights of every country and every day there are new attacks’,” recounted Paolo…
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The global economic crisis has triggered a public outcry against tax havens which is here to stay, journalist and author Nicholas Shaxson told swissinfo.ch. Shaxson believes that Switzerland – and other global tax havens – cannot resist the rising tide of sentiment against the illicit offshore financial system for much longer. The only question is…
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If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.