US mounts pressure on Switzerland to divulge names of tax evaders
05 Sep 2011
The US has written to Switzerland demanding that it hand over detailed information by this week on Swiss banks who may have helped wealthy US taxpayers dodge taxes, Swiss newspapers reported on Sunday.
The US has threatened to file charges against Credit Suisse and nine other Swiss banks if they do not comply , SonntagsZeitung and NZZ am Sonntag.
US officials demand follows Switzerland having signed tax treaties with Britain and Germany last month.
SonntagsZeitung reported that it has in its posserssion a copy of a letter sent by the US deputy attorney general James Cole to Swiss diplomat Michael Ambühl demanding to know how many Americans had evaded US taxes by putting money into Swiss accounts.
In his letter dated 31 August, Cole demanded detailed figures on tax evasion at Credit Suisse by Tuesday and also sought information from nine other smaller Swiss banks, the report said.
Switzerland, which has been in talks with the US, is pushing for a bilateral solution to settle its impasse with the US, offering to provide client details under a pending new bilateral tax treaty regardless of its strict banking secrecy laws.
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