Switzerland and US sign tax deal

Switzerland moved closer to removal from a "grey list" of tax havens on Wednesday, when it signed a revised double taxation agreement (DTA) with the United States.

The DTA signed in Washington will make it easier for the two countries to exchange banks’ customer information.

The agreement conforms to Article 26 of the Model Tax Convention of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), which creates an obligation for countries to share relevant data for tax enforcement.

Earlier this year Switzerland came under strong pressure from the OECD and the G20 group of the world’s major economies to sign such revised agreements. After the country was placed on the OECD’s so-called grey list, the cabinet decided in March to extend cooperation with foreign governments on tax matters.

To be removed from the list, it must have agreements conforming to Article 26 in place with at least 12 countries.

On Thursday Switzerland is due to sign a deal with Qatar, which will complete the tally. Other agreements have been drawn up with Japan, the Netherlands, Poland and Singapore, and are awaiting government approval.

The DTA with the US was signed the day before the opening in Pittsburgh of the G20 summit, the deadline set by the OECD.

Switzerland expects to be removed from the grey list on Friday. Other countries initially included in the list, including Austria, Belgium and Luxembourg have already been removed.

swissinfo.ch and agencies