A report issued by International Monetary Fund (IMF) foresees additional
pressure on Swiss banking secrecy resulting from adoption of revised Anti-Money
Laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) norms adopted by
Financial Action Task Force (FATF) in February 2012.
IMF’s Staff Report
on Switzerland prepared for 2102 Article IV Consultation points out that an
international push to broaden cross-border cooperation in tax compliance is
challenging long-standing bank secrecy principles and practices in the Swiss
private banking industry.
IMF made this report public on 8 May following
conclusion of Article IV consultations with Swiss authorities.
The
report notes that in an effort to address legacy issues and improve tax
transparency, Switzerland has signed several withholding tax agreements with
other countries, including most recently with Austria and the U.K.
In
2011, a number of Swiss banks have been placed under investigation in the U.S.
for allegedly helping clients evade taxes; one small bank in this group has been
indicted and broke itself up preemptively. To help bring about a settlement, the
Swiss parliament recently broadened the scope of administrative assistance
offered to U.S. tax authorities under the double taxation agreement (whose
ratification is, however, still pending in the U.S.). Following these
developments, the Swiss wealth management business has seen outflows from
European countries and the U.S., which have been partly offset by inflows from
other countries.
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