Automatic exchanges signed with three countries

An illustrated picture shows the Swiss flag and numbers reflected in a CD in Germany Keystone

Switzerland has signed declarations to exchange tax information automatically with Brazil, Mexico and Uruguay in coming years, but the deals must still go before Swiss parliament for approval.

Under the declarations, banking information would be collected from 2018 and exchanged by 2019, the State Secretariat for International Financial Matters (SIF) said. Brazil, Mexico and Uruguay all meet the requirements for guaranteeing confidentiality of data transmitted, according to SIF.

Only two months ago, Switzerland ratified an agreement to fall in line with international co-operation on tax matters. That came under a deal approved by parliament at the end of last year.

International standards

The ‘Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters’ means Switzerland is coming into line with international standards on taxation, joining almost 100 other countries that have already signed-up to the agreement.

The convention was jointly set up by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the Council of Europe.

The declarations with the three Latin American countries were signed on Friday.

The Swiss cabinet has authorised the finance ministry to soon begin a consultation process before the declarations are submitted to parliament for approval.

State Secretary Jörg Gasser ended his working trip to South America with a visit to Brazil. Switzerland’s financial market policy, market access for financial service providers, the positions of partners in international financial bodies and the possibility of structural reforms were the main topics during the visit, the SIF said in a statementExternal link.