Swiss president hits out at 'Anglo-Saxon' trusts
22 April 2013
Swiss president Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf told
leaders of the G20 countries this weekend that Switzerland will
maintain its opposition to automatic tax information exchange until
all other countries comply with international standards.
She was replying to a report by the
Organisation for Economic Development & Cooperation's global
forum on tax transparency. The OECD report has refused Switzerland
clearance for a Phase 2 peer review (which tests a country's
compliance with transparency standards in practice, as well as its
formal legislative compliance) unless it meets certain conditions
first. It is not entirely clear what these conditions are, but they
appear to be related to the need for legal powers to enforce the
disclosure of ownership information.
Widmer-Schlumpf insisted that Switzerland's
Federal Council has already initiated solutions for the issues
criticised by the OECD, and is prepared "under certain conditions"
to discuss the automatic exchange of information. But she
indicated that the country feels it is being held to higher
standards than other countries, including other members of G20.
"Internationally accepted standards must be complied with and
implemented by all countries", she said. "Recent revelations have
confirmed that various financial centres in America and Asia do not
comply."
She singled out trusts as a particular target
of Switzerland's resentment. "The identification of beneficial
owners of trusts urgently has to be improved in many countries",
she said - especially "offshore financial centres which adhere to
Anglo-Saxon law".
Widmer-Schlumpf also insisted on reciprocity.
"A state must be prepared to deliver the same data that it demands
from another state", she said.
• Similar points have been made by Austrian
finance minister Maria Fekter in recent European Union
negotiations. She accused the UK of having "many tax havens under
its direct jurisdiction that are the real hotspots of money
laundering and tax evasion".
Sources
Swiss Federal Council
Swissinfo
OECD (PDF file - see page 19)
Reuters
Chicago Tribune