Almost ten years since it was announced : the end of banking secrecy in switzerland is coming into force at the end of September. The banks of them have started exchanging information automatically (when he had to ask one by one before)… but not with France, the beginning of which the exchange has been given, for the moment, in the month of November ” for technical reasons “.
The first exchanges were concerned about two million accounts held with the member States of the european Union, as well as nine other States and territories, including the channel islands of Jersey and Guernsey, Canada, Norway and Japan, said the federal Administration of contributions (AFC) in a press release. Some seven thousand financial institutions (banks, trusts, insurance, etc) are registered with the swiss administration.
The transmission of data (name, address, State of residence, tax identification number, account balance, income from capital, etc) has been delayed with France, but also with Australia, to the extent that these two countries could not still themselves deliver their data to the swiss administration, says AFC, without giving details.
” The amount of information to transmit is more important this year, because of both a scope of data is wider (including life insurance) and a larger number of participating countries. Because of this, the transmission of data from France to Switzerland is subject to a slight delay. It will be caught during the month of November, ” is the reply from his side, the general Directorate of public finances.
also Read : Geneva hustled by the end of banking secrecy
Lack of co-operation switzerland
A volume that is certainly more important information, but that does not justify the lack of co-operation swiss, emphasizes the finance ministry. “The principle of automatic exchange is that no country makes its shipments in the prior analysis of the information from other countries. The tax administration Switzerland has, therefore, no reason to delay its shipments to France, because it shows you have made shipments to other countries, ” growls the general Directorate of public finances.
This problem comes in addition to other issues, said Manon Aubry, of the association of Oxfam France. It refers in particular to “exchange” variable geometry ” made by some States and the many strategies, including the “passport gold” to circumvent regulation “. These certificates of residence, so-called “golden” because they are granted against a strong compensation of very rich investors in a score of countries, can work around the tax.
the Irony of the news, the trial of the Union of swiss banks (UBS) opened at the beginning of October in Paris, for the selling of illegal French customers. On Wednesday, it is behind the sacrosanct banking secrecy and to the former number two of the French subsidiary, Patrick de Fayet, was cut off for not answering the questions of the president as to potential approaches that fraudulent managers business swiss. The largest private bank of the federation risk a penalty representing one-half of are whitened, that is, 5 billion euros, according to the calculations of the co-investigating judges.
also Read : hunting Parties, and solicitation of banking in menu trial UBS
