The Swiss Federal Tax Administration (FTA) may provide France with information on the identity of UBS clients presumed to be taxable in France.
The Federal Supreme Court (FSC) has announced in a media release regarding the Federal Supreme Court's ruling of 26 July 2019 (2C_653/2018) that the FTA may disclose information on the identity of UBS clients to France. In the view of the Federal Supreme Court, the request for administrative assistance submitted by France on the basis of lists containing around 40,000 account and other bank numbers does not constitute an inadmissible "fishing expedition". Based on the guarantees provided by the French authorities to the federal administration, the principle of speciality does not justify a refusal of mutual assistance.
The Federal Supreme Court therefore upholds the FTA's appeal against the decision of the Federal Administrative Court.
Further details of the decision can be found in the press release issued by the BGer and the press release issued by the Federal Department of Finance (FDF) on 26 July 2019.
The judgment shall be published after the written statement of grounds has been submitted.
