Switzerland’s Federal Department of Finance today launched a consultation on introducing automatic exchange of information (AEOI) in tax matters with 20 additional countries.
The countries under consideration are China, Indonesia, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Liechtenstein, Colombia, Malaysia, the United Arab Emirates, Montserrat, Aruba, Curaçao, Belize, Costa Rica, Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, the Cook Islands and the Marshall Islands.
The implementation of AEOI with these nations would be from 1 January 2018, with the first exchange of information will taking place in 2019.
AEOI would be grounded on the international standard for the exchange of information developed by the OECD included in the Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement on the Automatic Exchange of Financial Account Information. The AEOIs will be implemented only with those states that respect the international standards on confidentiality rules and data safeguards, the government assured.
These efforts confirm Switzerland’s intention to introduce automatic exchange of information with states and territories that meet the requirements of the international AEOI standard and foster the positive perception of Switzerland’s financial centre is not only as a competitive environment but also as ethical, the government said.
In 2017, Switzerland introduced AEOI with all EU member states including Gibraltar, as well as with Australia, Iceland, Norway, Japan, Canada, South Korea and the British crown dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Hence, data will be exchanged for the first time with these 38 states and territories in 2018.
The consultation, which will end on 13 April, is running parallel to Switzerland’s consultation, initiated on 1 December 2016, regarding the introduction of the AEOI with other states and territories from 2018/2019.
Once the consultations have been completed, both proposals will be merged into a single item and submitted to parliament.
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Davide Anghileri
Davide Anghileri is a PhD candidate at the University of Lausanne, where he is writing his thesis on the attribution of profits to PEs. He researches transfer pricing issues and lectures for the Master of Advanced Studies in International Taxation and Executive Program on Transfer Pricing.
Anghileri, a Contributing Editor at MNE Tax, previously worked as a policy advisor to the Swiss government on BEPS issues.
Davide can be reached at [email protected].
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