On 5-6 December 2017, both the Council of States and the National Council approved the introduction of the automatic exchange of information (AIA) on financial accounts with 41 partner states (from 2018/2019).
According to the Federal Council's business (17,040) concerning the introduction of automatic information exchange on financial accounts with 41 partner states from 2018/2019, Switzerland's network of AIA partners is to be expanded to include 41 signatory states and territories. With regard to these states and territories, account information is to be collected from 2018 onwards and a mutual exchange of this data is to take place for the first time in 2019.
Overall, the list of proposed AIA partners for 2018/2019 includes the following states and territories:
- G-20 countries (Argentina, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa) and OECD member states (Chile, Israel, New Zealand);
- important economic and trading partners of Switzerland (Principality of Liechtenstein, Colombia, Malaysia, United Arab Emirates);
- States and territories within Europe with references to the European Union (Andorra, Faroe Islands, Greenland, Monaco, San Marino);
- States and territories with sectoral or regional financial centres of importance (Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Curaçao, Grenada, Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Seychelles, Turks and Caicos Islands, Uruguay)
The Federal Council had published a dispatch on the introduction of the automatic exchange of information on financial accounts with 41 partner countries from 2018/2019 (see our contribution of 21 June 2017).
The National Council had already discussed the Federal Council's business in an earlier session on 27 September 2017 and had passed a resolution that deviated from the Federal Council's draft. It approved the exchange of information with 39 other countries, but refused to exchange information with Saudi Arabia. In the case of New Zealand, the National Council rejected the Federal Decree to the Federal Council, as Switzerland would first have to negotiate a social agreement with New Zealand. In the view of the National Council, Swiss citizens in New Zealand are worse off than other Swiss abroad because their Swiss AHV pensions are deducted from their New Zealand pension (see the SDA report of 27 September 2017).
In its session of 6 December 2017, the National Council has now abandoned this original opposition with regard to the two states (Saudi Arabia and New Zealand) and approved the AIA also with regard to these two states.
In general, the automatic exchange of information with all states should only take place if the partner state meets strict conditions. Parliament has specified the criteria in question in more detail. Among other things, the Federal Council must ensure that data security and confidentiality are guaranteed. The National Council initially wanted to make corruption a criterion as well, but now it decided not to do so.
Both Councils thus adopted the proposals and approved the AIA with the 41 partner states concerned. The minutes of the two Councils and the relevant documents are available here. The corresponding SDA media release dated 6 December 2017 is available here.
