SWITZERLAND has today become the 52nd jurisdiction to sign the
Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement, which will allow it to go forward
with plans to activate automatic exchange of financial account information
in tax matters with other countries beginning in 2018.
The landmark decision comes just weeks after Switzerland told the Global Forum
on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes that it would
implement in a timely manner the Standard for Automatic Exchange of Financial
Account Information in Tax Matters developed by the OECD and G20 countries.
The Swiss decision is subject to Parliamentary approval, as well as the possibility
that voters may be asked to approve the necessary laws and agreements.
The Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement is a framework agreement based
on the Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters.
It was signed by 51 jurisdictions during the annual meeting of the Global Forum
on 29 October 2014 in Berlin.
Bilateral information exchanges will come into effect between signatories after
subsequent notifications are filed, as required under the Agreement. A group
of early adopters have pledged to work towards launching their first information
exchanges by September 2017. Others, including Switzerland, are expected to
follow in 2018.
The Standard for Automatic Exchange of Financial Account Information in Tax
Matters was endorsed by G20 Leaders at the Leaders’ Summit on 15-16 November
2014 in Brisbane, Australia. It provides for exchange of all financial information
on an annual basis, automatically. Most jurisdictions have committed to implementing
this Standard on a reciprocal basis with all interested jurisdictions.
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