On 27 September 2017, the National Council discussed the introduction of the automatic exchange of information 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)
In this regard, the Federal Council has 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 (as the first Council to deal with the matter) had discussed the Federal Council's business in its session of 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).
The minutes of the National Council meeting are available here.
