US treasury publishes draft beneficial ownership reporting rule to tackle the use of shell companies The US Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has published a draft rule which will implement the beneficial ownership information reporting provisions of the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA). The Act requires beneficial ownership reporting by domestic and...Read More

The Federal Council initiates consultation on automatic exchange of information with twelve more partner states On 3 December 2021, the Federal Council initiated the consultation on the introduction of the automatic exchange of financial account information (AEOI) with twelve additional states and territories. The AEOI is scheduled to enter into force on 1 January 2023,...Read More

DTA amendment in the pipeline for Russia and Switzerland Following Russia’s recent request to revise the existing double taxation agreement (DTA) with Switzerland, the two Countries’ finance ministers have held a meeting to initiate discussion upon the matter. Starting from 2020, Russia has renegotiated a number of DTTs (as with Malta, Luxembourg and Cyprus), increasing...Read More

Switzerland is consulting on AML Ordinance amendments Switzerland’s federal government has published draft amendments to the Anti-Money Laundering Ordinance (the Ordinance), which aim to implement the measures in the revised Anti-Money Laundering Act (the Act). The Act introduces most of the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF’s) 2016 recommendations for Swiss anti-money laundering (AML) reform, including...Read More

FINMA encourages trustees and portfolio managers to submit licence applications as soon as possible The Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority revealed that as of today only 180 out of around 2,400 portfolio managers and trustees have submitted a licence application required by the Financial Institutions Act (FinIA), which entered into force in January 2020. The...Read More

The Swiss FDEA releases data on lump-sum taxation The Contribution Division of the Federal department of Economic Affairs (FDEA) has released data  relating to those individuals that have chosen taxation according to worldwide living expenditure (also called lump-sum or global taxation) in Canton Ticino. This survey, carried out every two years, monitors the number of...Read More

Brazil issues the decree implementing the double taxation agreement with Switzerland On 9 June 2021, the Brazilian Government issued Decree No. 10,714/2, which concludes the ratification process of the double taxation treaty between Brazil and Switzerland. The new DTA, which will come into force from 1 January 2022, promotes economic relations between Brazil and Switzerland....Read More

Switzerland announces new succession law from 2023 At its meeting on 19 May 2021, the Federal Council decided to set the date for the implementation of the revision of Swiss succession law on 1 January 2023. The reform will alter substantially Switzerland’s forced-heirship laws, adapting it to the evolution of society and allowing for more...Read More

EU to re-assess tax information exchange agreements The European Data Protection Board (EDPB) asked EU Member States to re-assess their tax information exchange agreements (TIEA) with third countries in order to evaluate their compliance with taxpayers’ privacy rights and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). This request follows concerns raised in Austria, France, Luxembourg and...Read More

IMF praises Switzerland’s response to the Covid-19 Pandemic Despite the difficulties posed by the Covid-19 Pandemic, Switzerland’s GDP, according to the latest data from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), is expected to grow 3.5% in 2021 and 2.8% in 2022. This thanks to its solid domestic economies, with particular reference to the competitiveness of its...Read More