Swiss agree to relax bank secrecy rules

Switzerland is to water down its famed bank secrecy laws, it announced on the 13 March 2009, ending a week in which offshore banking centres from Liechtenstein to Singapore have bowed to international pressure and agreed to help tackle tax evasion. Austria and Luxembourg also said that they would make it easier for foreign governments to pursue tax evaders, just a day after Andorra and Liechtenstein announced similar steps.

ESO: Background information: Liechtenstein eases bank secrecy rules http://www.europeansources.info/record/liechtenstein-eases-bank-secrecy-rules/

BBC News, 13.3.09: Switzerland eases banking secrecy http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7941717.stm

Switzerland: Swiss Confederation: Press Release, 13.3.09: Switzerland to adopt OECD standard on administrative assistance in fiscal matters http://www.admin.ch/aktuell/00089/index.html?lang=en&msg-id=25863

OECD: Press Release, 12.3.09: Moves by financial centres boost OECD fight against tax evasion http://www.oecd.org/document/21/0,3343,en_2649_201185_42339984_1_1_1_1,00.html

http://www.oecd.org/tax/ http://www.oecd.org/tax/

Deutsche Welle, 13.3.09: Austria, Switzerland and Luxembourg Ease Banking Secrecy http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,4095348,00.html

France24, 13.3.09: Austrian, Luxembourg, Swiss banks forced to ease secrecy http://www.france24.com/en/20090313-switzerland-eases-banking-secrecy-oecd-data-sharing

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