Skip to: Content
Skip to: Site Navigation
Skip to: Search
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2009
| Subscribe to Newser's RSS feeds RSS | Follow Newser on Twitter Twitter


1

Swiss Ditch Bank Secrecy Rules

Share

(Newser) – Switzerland might not be a haven for tax evading ne’er-do-wells for much longer. The country agreed today to ease its banking secrecy laws, eliminating the distinction between tax fraud and tax evasion on foreign accounts. Previously, the Swiss cooperated with foreign governments only on tax fraud, which is a criminal offense, not evaders. Austria and Luxembourg made similar moves today, following the lead of Liechtenstein and Andorra yesterday.

The Swiss government insists, however, that it maintains its principles of banking secrecy, and that information will only be shared on a “case by case” basis, on “concrete and justified” requests. Switzerland is hoping the move prevents it from being blacklisted when world powers meet next month to discuss tax cheats.

Kaspar Villiger, future chairman of the board of Swiss bank UBS, is interviewed after a press conference in Zurich, Switzerland, Wednesday, March 4, 2009.
Kaspar Villiger, future chairman of the board of Swiss bank UBS, is interviewed after a press conference in Zurich, Switzerland, Wednesday, March 4, 2009.   (AP Photo/Keystone, Alessandro Della Bella)
In this 2008 file photo, dark clouds hang above the Logo of the UBS (Union Bank of Switzerland) in Zurich, Switzerland.
In this 2008 file photo, dark clouds hang above the Logo of the UBS (Union Bank of Switzerland) in Zurich, Switzerland.   (AP Photo/Keystone, Alessandro Della Bella, file)
A sign bearing the UBS logo is seen in a window at the Swiss Bank's headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland, Friday, Feb. 20, 2009.
A sign bearing the UBS logo is seen in a window at the Swiss Bank's headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland, Friday, Feb. 20, 2009.   (AP Photo/Keystone, Walter Bieri)
« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow
OFF THE GRID
11.24.09
Murdoch and Microsoft: The Mice Are Trying to Roar
11.23.09
Books Are Bad for You
1 comment
VIEWING:
 
gianpaul
Mar 13, 09 10:27 AM CDT
This is not enough, dear fellow Swiss living there in the Alps: be as courageous as neighboring (tiny) Lichtenstein and spell it out clearly: Your intention must be to equally adopt the principles laid down by the OECD. Nothing less. With over 2 trillion in foreign assets in Swiss bank vaults, some of your bankers had even the expert advise for their clients to send money to Madoff. When it's getting too easy, sloppiness usually sets in... Reply
Vote up! Vote down!
0
LEAVE A
COMMENT Comment Policy
Facebook ConnectPost this comment to Facebook?

After connecting you will have the option to post your comment on your Facebook profile.

 

Related Newser Stories

153 Stories

 Polanski Could Go 
 Free on $4.5M Bail 

Director remains in jail pending appeal of Swiss court ruling

7 hours, 7 minutes ago
(Newser) - Roman Polanksi may soon be free to take a pricey vacation from jail to his Swiss chalet, with ankle bracelet. A Swiss court has agreed to free him on $4.5 million bail, the BBC reports, provided he surrender his passport and submit to electronic monitoring. He's still behind bars... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Switzerland • extradition • Roman Polanski • electronic monitoring • Swiss Justice Ministry • Roman Polanski bail • Swiss court • chalet

 Hadron Collider 
 Restarts Briefly 

After 14 months of repairs, proton beams circulate

Nov 20, 09 6:06 PM CST
(Newser) - The Large Hadron Collider roared to life today for the first time since September 2008. "The first tests of injecting subatomic particles" took just a fraction of a second, a CERN rep said, but the circulation of the proton beams confirmed that the repairs instituted 9 days after the... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Switzerland • Big Bang • tunnel • CERN • Large Hadron Collider • European Organization for Nuclear Research • protons

15K Yanks Turn Selves in
for Offshore Tax Cheating

Asia joins Switzerland as hotspot for hidden assets

Nov 18, 09 9:57 AM CST
(Newser) - Prodded by the stick of a looming crackdown on offshore tax cheats and the carrot of an IRS amnesty program, some 14,700 rich Americans have turned themselves in, disclosing billions in hidden foreign assets. The "unprecedented" participation in the amnesty program surprised the IRS and advisers to the... More »

MORE ABOUT:
IRS • Switzerland • tax evasion • tax fraud • assets • IRS amnesty program • offshore tax cheat • Asia hidden asset • IRS Beijing office

153 Stories


five facts about Switzerland's banking rules
Reuters


Business  •  World 
TwitterFollow @NewserBusiness on Twitter

 
Switzerland • tax evasion • tax fraud

from our news partners

Associated PressAssociated Press