Swiss commit to transparency despite UBS action

Switzerland's finance minister, Hans-Rudolf Merz, has reaffirmed the country's willingness to increase tax transparency by committing to 12 revised double taxation treaties by the end of this year.

The committment comes at a time when the US Department of Justice has confirmed it intends to forge ahead with plans to undertake legal action against investment banking giant UBS, according to ft.com

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is seeking the identities of some 52,000 American private wealth clients of the bank with accounts in Switzerland.

The secretive haven has already negotiated six tax information agreements this year, and needs an additional six to comply with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's minimum of 12, which elevates jurisdictions to 'white-list' status.

Further Reading:

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New approach needed to tackle tax havens