Swiss agrees UK tax treaty
FINANCIAL secretary Stephen Timms yesterday signed a tax treaty with Switzerland that will give UK authorities access to more information on the activities of wealthy banking clients in the European tax haven.
The deal takes Switzerland a step closer to the 12 international agreements it needs to sign to be removed from a global grey list on tax evasion. But im impinges on the fiercely-guarded Swiss tradition of banking secrecy.
Timms said: “The days when hiding money offshore represented a viable means of evading UK tax are rapidly drawing to a close.”
The new protocol was signed by Timms and Swiss ambassador to Britain Alexis Lautenberg and comes into effect when both nations follow up with changes to domestic laws.
It comes shortly after the Swiss signed a tax deal with France, as it fights to exit the Organisation for Cooperation and Economic Development’s offender list.
Switzerland agreed in March to relax its strict banking secrecy rules and embrace tax cooperation rules as developed countries started a coordinated offensive on tax evasion.
The Swiss deal with Britain follows the signing of a key deal between Liechtenstein and Britain just under a month ago.