DAC7 will require digital platforms to be more transparent EU Member States have recently amended the Directive on administrative cooperation in taxation. Such amendments will need to be adopted by 31 December 2022, and will enter into force starting 1 January 2023. Council Directive (EU) 2021/514 of 22 March 2021 (DAC7) extends automatic exchange of...Read More
Brazil ratifies DTA with Switzerland On 24 February 2021, the Brazilian Senate passed Bills Nos. 203, 650, and 667, to ratify the protocol for the elimination of double taxation and the prevention of tax evasion and avoidance between Brazil and Switzerland, Singapore and the UAE. Switzerland and Brazil had already signed the agreement in May...Read More
Switzerland: the canton of residence of the heirs will be responsible for the collection of inheritance tax The Federal Council, in the meeting of February 3, 2021, amended the ordinance on withholding tax, establishing that from January 1, 2022 the heirs will have to seek the refund of the withholding tax on income from succession...Read More
The UK seeks legislative freedom by withdrawing from DAC6’s disclosure provisions Following Brexit, the UK government has decided not to proceed with the implementation of the EU’s Council Directive (EU) 2018/822 (DAC6), which involves mandatory disclosure of cross-border tax planning schemes. With the new free trade agreement signed by the UK with the EU, both...Read More
EU remedies to the inefficiencies of its blacklisting system for tax havens The Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) recently adopted a resolution introducing changes in the system used to draw up the EU list of tax havens, which up to date was “confusing and ineffective”. The 2017’s list of tax havens drawn up by...Read More
US asks Switzerland to disclose FATCA non-compliers’ account details On December 1, the Swiss Fedral Tax Administration (SFTA) acting on behalf of the American Internal Revenue Service (IRS), asked twelve Swiss banks and one fiduciary to provide data on certain of their American account-holders, as required by the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). The...Read More
FINMA to issue revised circular on “Video and online identification” Four years on from the publication of the circular on “Video and online identification” 2016/7, The Swiss Financial Markets Supervisory Authority (FINMA) is re-evaluating the regulation’s purposefulness in order to take into account the most recent technological advancements. The goal is to align the norm...Read More
Switzerland implements national strategy against cyber-risks The Federal Council Cyber Committee recently adopted the 2018-2022 report on the progress made in implementing the national strategy for the protection of Switzerland against cyber-risks (NCS). The NCS specifies the strategic goals for protecting against cyber-risks and it covers the current implementation status of the plan. As of...Read More
AEOI: The Swiss Federal Council adopts new Ordinance Following the assessment of the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes on the implementation in Switzerland of the standard for the international automatic exchange of information in tax matters (AEOI standard), on November 11 2020, the Swiss Federal Council approved the amended...Read More
Ombudsman affiliation requirement: new limitations On 25 September 2020, Parliament adopted the Federal Act on the Adaptation of Federal Law to Developments in Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT bill), with the aim to keep Switzerland a leading, innovative and sustainable location in the blockchain and DLT sector. As part of the parliamentary deliberations on the DLT,...Read More
