The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) wants Switzerland to make the international hunt for tax evaders easier, a Swiss newspaper reported on Sunday.
The OECD criticised current Swiss requirements for legal assistance in cases of tax evasion, saying they were too restrictive and an obstacle for an effective exchange of information, weekly SonntagsZeitung said, citing a government document. Swiss Finance Minister Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf therefore made proposals to the government to provide so-called legal assistance more easily to other countries, the paper said.
Switzerland had to give in to international pressure in 2009 and softened bank secrecy, pledging to help other countries in the hunt for tax evaders to comply with OECD standards. However, the country said it would only give legal assistance if the other country could provide the name of the suspect and his or her bank.
Spokesmen for the government and the Finance Ministry confirmed that the OECD peer review was ongoing but declined to comment on details of the newspaper report.
"As usual in such a review process, there are open questions, which are dealt with by the finance department," Finance Ministry spokesman Daniel Saameli said.
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