The European Union and Switzerland on May 27 signed an agreement to commence automatic exchange of bank account information from 2018. Switzerland also launched a consultation on the agreement, requesting stakeholder feedback by September 17.
Information to be exchanged under the agreement will include interest and dividend income, account balances, and proceeds from the sale of financial assets.
The agreement will replace the taxation of savings agreement between Switzerland and the EU that has been in force since 2005. Provision for withholding tax exemptions for cross-border payments of dividends, interest, and royalties between related entities will be carried over from the existing taxation of savings agreement.
“Today’s agreement shows that the EU’s member states and Switzerland are not only politically committed to promoting fair competition in taxation together. We also share the aim of improving international tax compliance on the basis of a reciprocal automatic exchange of information on accounts held by financial institutions,” said Jānis Reirs, minister for finance of Latvia and president of the Council, who signed the agreement on behalf of the EU.
Pierre Moscovici, commissioner for economic and financial affairs, taxation and customs, also signed the agreement on behalf of the EU, and Jacques de Watteville, Switzerland’s state secretary for international financial matters, signed on behalf of Switzerland.
Further steps must be taken by both the EU and Switzerland for the agreement to enter into force.
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