| SWITZERLAND has finally done it. They
have signed the OECD-tailored Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative
Assistance in Tax Matters during a ceremony at Paris.
The
signing comes after the Swiss Federal Council approved the Multilateral
Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters on October 9.
The
Multilateral Convention provides for all forms of mutual assistance: exchange on
request, spontaneous, tax examinations abroad, simultaneous tax examinations and
assistance in tax collection, while protecting taxpayers’ rights. It provides
the option to undertake automatic exchange while requiring an agreement between
the Parties interested in this form of assistance. With the support of the G20,
automatic exchange is becoming the new international standard, and Switzerland
adheres to an instrument that will allow it, in due time, to join the
jurisdictions that will decide to exchange financial information automatically.
The
58 signatories to the Convention are: Albania, Argentina, Australia, Austria,
Azerbaijan, Belgium, Belize, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, Costa Rica,
Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany,
Ghana, Greece, Guatemala, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan,
Korea, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Mexico, Moldova, Morocco,
Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russian
Federation, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, South Africa,
Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, and United
States.
The
following jurisdictions are also covered by the Convention through territorial
extension by Denmark: the Faroe Islands and Greenland; by territorial extension
by the Netherlands: Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Marteen; and by territorial
extension by the United Kingdom: the Cayman Islands, Montserrat and Turks and
Caicos.
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