Consultation on AEOI with additional countries

On 2 February 2017, the Federal Department of Finance (FDF) initiated a consultation (to last until 13 April 2017) on the automatic exchange of tax information (AEOI) to be introduced with additional countries. The AEOI should be introduced on 1 January 2018, with the first exchange of information to take place in 2019.

The countries involved are China, Indonesia, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Liechtenstein, Colombia, Malaysia, the United Arab Emirates, Montserrat, Aruba, Curaçao, Belize, Costa Rica, Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, the Cook Islands, and the Marshall Islands. To join Switzerland's network of AEOI partner states, these additional countries are required to abide by the principle of speciality and safeguard the confidentiality of the data delivered.

The consultation is running in parallel with the consultation initiated on 1 December 2016 on the AEOI with further states and territories to be launched from 2018/2019. As soon as the consultations are completed, both proposals will be merged into one and then submitted to the Parliament.

It should be recalled that Switzerland has introduced the AEOI with all EU member states, including Gibraltar in 2017, as well as with Australia, Iceland, Norway, Japan, Canada, South Korea and the British crown dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Data will be first exchanged with these 38 states and territories in 2018.

In terms of law, the AEOI with the new states and territories will be based on the Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement on the Automatic Exchange of Financial Account Information (MCAA). The MCAA is based on OECD's international standard for the exchange of information.

By introducing the AEOI with the above states and territories Switzerland's confirms its international commitment to implementing the AEOI standard and reaffirms its intention to introduce the automatic exchange of information with states and territories that meet the requirements of the international AEOI standard. This will have a positive impact on the integrity and competitiveness of Switzerland's financial center.


Legal disclaimer. This article does not constitute legal advice and does not establish an attorney-client relationship. The article should be used for informational purposes only.