UBS backs Switzerland adoption of OECD information exchange deal
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E-mail Xinhua, May 8, 2014
UBS, the biggest bank in Switzerland, expressed its supports on Wednesday to the Switzerland's joining in a declaration of Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) on a new automatic exchange of information (AEOI) standard in tax matters.
Yves Kaufmann Lobato, spokesperson of UBS, told Xinhua this afternoon that UBS was committed to international standards and welcomed the Swiss government's engagement in the OECD process.
The bank stressed that it had strict rules in place around tax compliance for its clients.
During the OECD's annual Ministerial Council Meeting, over 40 states, including Switzerland and Singapore, signed the Declaration on Automatic Exchange of Information in Tax Matters in Paris on Tuesday.
The declaration urged countries to implement a new single global standard on automatic exchange of information, which was developed by OECD and would oblige countries and jurisdictions to obtain all financial information from their financial institutions and exchange that information automatically with other jurisdictions on an annual basis.
The seal of approval from Switzerland signaled its commitment to global crackdown on tax evasion and fraud, as well as its concession in nearly-a-century-long tradition of bank secrecy and a consent to reveal clients account information to a third party under the domain the new standard.
In June 2013, Swiss Federal Council declared to contribute actively, within the framework of the OECD, to the development of a global standard for the automatic exchange of information so as to ensure tax compliance.
Moreover, it required any tax standard agreed must satisfy its demands in terms of adherence to the principle of speciality and data protection, as well as guarantee reciprocity and include robust regulations for identifying the beneficial owners of all types of legal entity, including trusts and domiciliary companies.
The first part of the new AEOI standard was published by OECD in February this year, with the various technical details cleared up by mid-2014.
OECD said that the detailed package of standards will be submitted during a meeting of G20 finance ministers scheduled in September.
The new standard is reportedly scheduled to enter into force in 2017. Endi
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