On 27 May 2015 the EU and Switzerland signed an agreement on the automatic exchange of financial account information. This aims to improve international tax compliance.
From 2018 the EU and Switzerland will automatically exchange information on the financial accounts of their respective residents. This arrangement is intended to address situations where a taxpayer seeks to hide capital representing income or assets for which tax has not been paid.
The agreement ensures that Switzerland applies strengthened measures that are equivalent to the EU directive, as upgraded in March 2014. It also complies with the automatic exchange of financial account information promoted by a 2014 OECD global standard.
The EU and Switzerland must conclude the agreement in time to enable entry into force on 1 January 2017.
Press release, EU-Switzerland taxation agreement signed in joint effort to improve tax compliance
EU-Switzerland agreement on the automatic exchange of financial account information
