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Switzerland she really killed her bank secrecy? The Tour de France

Despite statements from world leaders on the end of bank secrecy, the path to transparency is still very long. Expansion examines the case of Switzerland, which has pledged to apply the OECD standards in this area. First obstacle course: legislative procedures in the case of Switzerland until the referendum to require that the Confederation ratified new tax treaties or new treaties for the exchange of tax information. Even if they eventually come into force, there is no guarantee that the Swiss tax authorities accept in all cases of fraud to disclose information in accordance with the criteria of the OECD model for exchange of information on demand. In case of divergence with the requesting State on the conditions for the lifting of bank secrecy, it is likely that the Court will at the Swiss Supreme Court, further delaying the process ...


The Swiss Confederation has signed tax treaties with several countries. But nobody really knows the content of these texts. Enough to keep the blur on the announced death of Swiss banking secrecy. Our explanations.

How Switzerland will ratify the tax To be applicable, these double tax treaties should be subject to all stakeholders of the Confederation, the first of which was the financial sector. Based on their observations, recommendations and others, the Swiss government will present the bilateral agreements in Parliament. What should not happen before late August. The latter will then decide whether to submit the text to a popular referendum. Therefore remains to know where is the Swiss population on the issue of banking secrecy. The government has already announced that only the first initialed agreement would be submitted to a popular referendum, leaving some uncertainty as to what he would do in case of negative response of his fellow citizens. If the agreements are ratified despite this and eventually come into force, the Swiss judge who will be the end of the story or not allowing the lifting of bank secrecy. Another problem, the OECD Convention does not provide for sanctions against states. Only possibility for a state that considers itself cheated, terminate the tax treaty in force.

Banking secrecy is what?
Kind of professional secrecy, "bank secrecy" means the obligation of banks not to give information about their customers to third parties. In Switzerland there since 1939 and gives the country a significant tax attractiveness. In 2008, Swiss banks have handled nearly 4 3000 billion, ranking 3rd in the world.
But for years the controversy swells around this secrecy. With globalization, many countries saw tax evasion grow, and therefore asked the Swiss to gain access to bank accounts and transaction details of their nationals fraudsters.
A query that has always been refused by the Swiss Confederation. But the context has changed. With the scandal of Liechtenstein and the financial crisis, the pressure was around tax havens increased. And on the eve of the G20 on 13 March, Switzerland has undertaken to apply the OECD standards.

What exactly these commitments?
Article 26 of the Model Tax Convention, the OECD provides a "duty to share information that is foreseeably relevant to the correct application of a tax treaty. This is called the system of information on demand, which is opposed to another system, where the exchange of information would be automatic. Clearly, if two countries sign an agreement, they are obliged to provide banking information whenever the other party so requests. But only in this case.

The OECD has classified its member states into 3 lists, white for those who comply with section 26, a gray for those who wish to comply with section 26 and a black for those who refuse any commitment on these issues tax. For the moment Switzerland is, if she wants out of the gray list, signed twelve agreements respecting bilateral Article 26, and this with any member of the organization. What she is quick to do from a few weeks until today it has reached an agreement with nine of them, including France and the United States.

What is the content of these agreements ?
Impossible to know. For as long as the agreements were not signed, but only initialed, as is the case today, their content is not intended to be unveiled. However, opinions differ on the content of these conventions, even though everyone claims to have had the hands ... Thus, the Swiss bankers say that the Swiss tax authorities will be required to disclose only "in cases where the evidence will be given a suspicion of tax fraud, identity of the person and the name of the bank" . It is in any case what was said in L'Expansion. Com Pierre Mirabaud, current president of the Association Swiss bankers. The problem is that, at the same time, Pascal Saint-Amans, head of the division for international cooperation and fiscal competition at the OECD made a contrary interpretation of these conventions ... "The only condition is that demand is not random. It will only provide the identity of a person suspected of fraud, and that's it," he maintains. What would change everything. If a simple name is enough really, so the days of secrecy are indeed numbered. Otherwise, he will be entitled to an unexpected respite.

Finally, the end of bank secrecy is so close?

Julie of the Brush

Source: L'Expansion. Com
( http://www.lexpansion.com/economie/actualite-entreprise/la-suisse-at-elle-vraiment-tue-son-secret-bancaire_189157.html )