The following 2018 Switzerland will abolish Bank secrecy for foreign clients and go to a new OECD standards on exchange of tax information, designed to counter the laundering/money-laundering and tax evasion. 38-mew countries, including the EU, the new regime (AIA) will be introduced inevitably.
However, it is unclear how one should behave Switzerland in the countries which are considered to be in the Confederation as corrupt and authoritarian, and who can not in the eyes of Bern to guarantee the protection of personal data coming to them from Switzerland. Russia — the list of these countries. In Federal Bern, according to Swiss prissavania link, pioneer of the struggle against the introduction of automatic data exchange with foreign countries has become the “Swiss people’s party” (“SVP”).
“We don’t want to introduce the automatic exchange of banking data with corrupt and unfree countries”, — said recently the Chairman of the party albert rösti (Albert RöstiВнешняя link). In this regard his party requires, in particular, from the government of the Federal Council, to ensure that countries with which Switzerland could share banking and tax information, really able to meet all its legal obligations, including in terms of protection of personal data.
Next Tuesday 15 of August its preliminary decision on this bill should receive parliamentary Commission on economic issues. While the “Swiss people’s party” published a list of “questionable” from her point of view countries, which are Argentina, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Colombia, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and the UAE. This country, say in the party, “are either half-dictatorship, or completely corrupt.”
As the scale experts the party proposes to use the corruption index of the international organization “Transparency International” and “index of democracy” the human rights organization “Freedom House”. The party, in particular, is worried about the interests of Swiss citizens residing abroad and have accounts in Switzerland.
“If Switzerland will give the state concerned the accounts of these people, then who can guarantee that they then, on the foreign Swiss, do not overwhelm the repression that they would not attempt blackmail that they will take a hostage in hopes of ransom. The corrupt employees of the tax authorities it may in fact cooperate with organized crime” — say in the party.
Demokristiane also against
Until recently, this was the opinion of only “Swiss people’s party”, but a few days ago about this said the Chairman of the party of the Swiss Christian Democrats (CVP) Gerhard Pfister (Gerhard Pfister)External link. According to him, the party “there are serious doubts in expediency of introduction of the automatic exchange of financial information with the States. Legal safeguards, as well as the individual rights of citizens in most of these countries are actually not secured, there is no guarantee that the mode of communication will operate in both directions”.
Another position is shared by the socialists (SP) and the party of “Green liberals” (“Grünliberale Partei”). “We are talking about international standard. Switzerland pledged to implement it”, — stressed the Deputy from Lucerne and member of the parliamentary Commission on economic Affairs Prisca Birrer-Heimo (Prisca Birrer-Neimovernaya link). In her opinion, in the case of really critical situation, the automatic data exchange to suspend.
MP from the “Green liberals” Catherine Bercy (Kathrin BertschyВнешняя link, Bern) said that Switzerland must implement the new OECD standards in the field of combating money laundering and tax evasion without any reservations. “Such international cooperation is always, ultimately, profitable.” Not yet clear the position of the liberals (FDP), although the acting head of the parliamentary faction of the party beat Walti (Beat WaltiВнешняя link) says that “the arguments of the critics deserve serious consideration”. In the end, he said, for international Affairs in Switzerland the responsibility of the Federal center and the last word supposed to say it.
Doubtful 19 States of the 41st
A supporter of the full implementation of the new OECD standards in the field of combating tax evasion, the Swiss expert in tax law rené Matteotti (René MatteottiВнешняя link) two years ago pointed out in his expert report, commissioned by the Federal government, which Switzerland should introduce a regime of automatic exchange of tax and banking information with the state only if “can be guaranteed use of the transferred information only for tax purposes, if fully secured protection of personal data, and if the state partner will provide for tax “sinners” voluntary surrender”.
In other words, the expert emphasizes that if these three items are guaranteed to be the can’t, then automatic exchange of information with the state contrary to the Constitution of Switzerland. That is why the other Swiss expert, a criminal law Professor, Rainer Schweizer (Rainer J. SchweizerВнешняя link) believes that in General the automatic exchange of banking and tax information with foreign countries “lawless (format)”.
A special representative of the Swiss government for the protection of personal information Adrian Lobsinger (Adrian LobsigerВнешняя link) said in February 2017 in an interview with the Swiss newspaper “Tages-Anzeiger” that the Ministry of Finance of Switzerland expressed doubts just brushed off to the side. He later clarified that the protection of private data is not guaranteed in 19 of the 41 countries with which Switzerland is going in 2018 to enter the automatic exchange of tax and banking information.
