Tax evasion accords concluded by Switzerland with Germany and Britain do not breach European Union laws, the EU taxation commissioner has confirmed.
This content was published on
1 minute
swissinfo.ch and agencies
The agreements are “fully compliant with EU law”, EU taxation commissioner Algirdas Semeta told reporters in Brussels on Tuesday.
Semeta’s confirmation comes after he warned the EU’s 27 member states last month that they “should refrain from negotiating, initialling or ratifying agreements with Switzerland” if some of the countries’ provisions interfere with EU legislation.
The European Commission, the EU’s executive, wants to negotiate an EU-wide tax deal with Switzerland, but that has been held up by disagreements over the automatic exchange of information about Swiss bank deposits held by EU citizens.
In the meantime, several individual member states have negotiated their own deals with Switzerland.
Semeta said a separate accord with Austria, received by the commission last Thursday, was still being assessed.
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
US senator digs in heels over Swiss tax deal
This content was published on
Despite the current log-jam US officials have generally welcomed the revised Swiss-US double taxation accord, approved by the Swiss parliament and government, which makes it easier to hand over information about US citizens with Swiss bank accounts. Rand Paul, a Republican senator from Kentucky, is the only senator openly opposing the ratification of the revised…
This content was published on
The Swiss finance ministry said negotiations with Washington would continue to settle a dispute over banking secrecy and alleged tax dodging. In a statement issued on Wednesday, the court said that evidence of tax evasion – such as failing to declare possession of a Swiss bank account – was not reason enough for the American…
This content was published on
Despite the growing friction surrounding the taxing of German fortunes held in Swiss banks and approach rights to Zurich airport, trade volume continued to grow uninterrupted in 2011. More than a quarter of Switzerland’s total international trade is with Germany: SFr98.6 billion ($107.5 billion) of SFr372 billion. This is up from SFr95 billion in 2010,…
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.