UBS is facing yet another demand for information on its clients.
Keystone / Gaetan Bally
Italy has asked Switzerland to supply information on all Italian account holders at UBS bank in the years 2015 and 2016 to help it in the hunt for tax evaders.
The request was submitted to the Swiss tax administration at the end of last year but has only just been made public. On Tuesday the Swiss authorities published the request in the Federal GazetteExternal link to give affected people the chance to appeal against their data being handed over.
Such group requests from foreign tax officials are controversial in Switzerland, but the Swiss Federal Court only last month set a legal precedent by ruling that UBS must comply with a similar demand from France.
The ruling has been viewed as boosting the chances of the Italian request being successful. In a statement to the Swiss news agency Keystone-SDA, UBS said it complies with tax obligations of European countries and international standards.
But the Italian request, submitted on December 6, 2018, covers the period February 2015 to the end of 2016, which falls before Switzerland agreed a treaty with the European Union on the automatic exchange of tax data.
This content was published on
Potentially toxic arsenic compounds can form in the human body when seafood is consumed. This is caused by arsenobetaine, which is often found in seafood. It can be converted into partially toxic substances by intestinal bacteria.
This content was published on
Swiss retailer Coop is expanding its programme to avoid meat waste. A corresponding pilot project is gradually being extended to the entire store network.
This content was published on
Women and foreign nationals are rarely found on the boards of directors of Swiss small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs).
Almost 700,000 people moved house in Switzerland in 2023
This content was published on
In Switzerland, 9.3% of the population moved in 2023. This was the lowest rate in over ten years, the Federal Statistical Office (FSO) said on Monday.
New trial in Zurich for lawyer in ‘cum-ex’ scandal
This content was published on
German lawyer Eckart Seith, considered in Germany to be the whistleblower in the cum-ex transaction scandal, is set to appear for trial again in Switzerland on Monday.
Swiss Federal Railways rated second best in Europe
This content was published on
The best railway company in Europe is Trenitalia, according to NGO Transport and Environment (T&E). Swiss Federal Railways came second.
Berset: ‘Democracy is regressing in several countries’
This content was published on
Democracy is backsliding in a number of nations and needs to be strengthened, says Alain Berset, secretary general of the Council of Europe.
Fall of Assad: Switzerland calls for reconciliation in Syria
This content was published on
Following the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria, the Swiss foreign ministry has called on all parties to protect civilians and respect international humanitarian law.
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
Read more
More
Italy demands data on billions in suspect Swiss accounts
This content was published on
In a statementExternal link issued on Thursday, the Guardia di Finanza said it wanted details on around 10,000 accounts. The Swiss tax administration said it would not comment on ongoing cases. It was not revealed if all the suspect accounts related to Credit Suisse. But the Guardia di Finanza linked its request to an earlier…
This content was published on
The Swedish and Dutch requests, submitted in October 2016 and February 2017 respectively, were reported in the latest edition of the Swiss Federal GazetteExternal link, which acts as a general public notice of such actions. It sends a further message that the net is closing on wealthy tax cheats who hid their money…
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.