Signed the agreement between the European Union and Switzerland for the automatic exchange of bank data for tax purposes, based on the standards of transparency promoted by the OECD. Brussels and Bern "will exchange information on the bank accounts of their respective residents starting from 2018", in order to fight tax evasion. Data collection will start in 2017.
The bilateral agreement was signed today in Brussels by the Swiss Secretary of State, Jacques de Watteville, by the Latvian finance minister, Janis Reirs, as representative of the EU presidency, and by the European commissioner Pierre Moscovici. The agreement represents a new step towards overcoming Swiss banking secrecy, which has allowed the institutions of the Confederation to be a free port for tax evaders for decades.
In a press release from the Swiss Federal Department of Finance, it is specified that the interested parties and the Swiss cantons will be able to express their opinion on the agreement until 17 September 2015 in the context of a consultation procedure. The Federal Council will then send it to the federal chambers for approval. The agreement could then be submitted to a popular referendum.
