Swiss, UK agree to settle tax issues over secret Swiss bank accounts
26 Oct 2010
Switzerland and the UK have agreed to begin talks to resolve tax issues related to secret Swiss bank accounts held by British nationals, which could potentially yield hundreds of millions in extra revenue for the UK Treasury.
A landmark declaration to the effect was signed yesterday in London by the Swiss finance minister Hans-Rudolph Merz, the UK chancellor of the exchequer George Osborne and exchequer secretary to the treasury David Gauke, said Mario Tuor, spokesperson of Swiss State Secretariat for International Financial Matters (SIF).
A similar agreement is expected to be inked between Swiss and German officials on a forthcoming meeting on Thursday to settle the long-standing tax disputes between the two neighbours as well.
The talks envisage arriving at a solution regarding payment of taxes on interests earned by British citizens on their stealthy deposits in Swiss banks.
The UK treasury considers that a deal with the Swiss is the only way to get any tax revenue from its citizens with offshore bank accounts in that country. It is believed that the treasury would not be revealing any details of tax rates, or amounts that might be raised.
British citizens' undeclared wealth in Swiss banks is estimated at approximately 60 billion Swiss francs ($61 billion), while the declared assets stand around 25 billion francs.
