Finance Minister Widmer-Schlumpf (right) ahead of the first cabinet meeting this year
Keystone
The Swiss government is seeking to extend cooperation with partner countries as part of planned international treaties on the introduction of the exchange of information on tax matters.
This content was published on
1 minute
Urs Geiser, swissinfo.ch
Under the proposals presented to journalists by Finance Minister Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf on Wednesday, the cabinet wants Switzerland to agree to three forms of information sharing in an effort to crack down on tax dodgers.
It is the latest stage towards the gradual implementation of the global rules by Switzerland foreseen from 2018.
“Switzerland wants to forge accords with all the politically and economically important countries and financial centres,” said Widmer-Schlumpf.
However, the minister did not go into further detail.
Besides the automatic exchange of information – based on accords by the Organisation for Economic Development and Co-operation and the Council of Europe – closer contacts are also sought to trade additional data on suspected tax cheats.
“The global standard creates a level playing field for all financial centres around the world. For Switzerland, this means that tax-related banking secrecy will no longer apply for clients from abroad,” a finance ministry statement said.
However, the transparency rules do not apply to domestic clients, the ministry added.
Following consultations with political parties, cantons and other institutions the cabinet is due present a bill for parliament to discuss later this year.
As a Swiss Abroad, how do you feel about the emergence of more conservative family policies in some US states?
In recent years several US states have adopted more conservative policies on family issues, abortion and education. As a Swiss citizen living there, how do you view this development?
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.
Read more
More
Swiss financial centre reforms are a work in progress
This content was published on
The Swiss government, the majority of parliament and the Swiss Bankers Association all have the objective of tax conformity. They have come to recognise that the financial centre must be clean to achieve international acceptance and remain competitive on the world stage. The next hurdle will be to pass examination by the Global Forum of…
Switzerland to share banking information from 2018
This content was published on
Along with members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and G20, Switzerland endorsed the new automatic information sharing standard at the annual meeting of the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes in Berlin on Wednesday. This standardExternal link will give tax administrations around the world a very…
This content was published on
The decision, announced on Wednesday, is the latest step in a political procedure to lift banking secrecy rules for taxpayers from outside Switzerland and prevent the country being blacklisted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Talks with the 28-nation EU and with Washington are a priority, according to the finance ministryExternal link.…
This content was published on
G20 finance ministers meeting in Australia have put their seal of approval on the global standard for automatic exchange of tax information (AIE).
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
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.