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Swiss Ditch Bank Secrecy Rules

By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff

Posted Mar 13, 2009 7:50 AM CDT

(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)
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COMMENTS
Showing 1 of 1 comment
gianpaul
Mar 13, 2009 3:27 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...

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