Switzerland's parliament would not vote for a second tax treaty to help settle US charges that Credit Suisse bankers helped wealthy Americans evade taxes, Swiss politicians were quoted as saying on Sunday.
In 2009, the Swiss government cut a deal with Washington to hand over the details of 4,450 UBS bank accounts to the US authorities to end a damaging lawsuit against the bank, lifting the veil on Switzerland's cherished tradition of banking secrecy that had helped it build up a multi-trillion-dollar offshore banking industry. But politicians of various affiliations said there was little appetite for a second deal to help Credit Suisse, which is being probed by US authorities as part of a broader investigation into banks suspected of helping Americans evade taxes.
"The enthusiasm to guarantee a bank state help again is very low," Christian Democrat (CVP) Pirmin Bischof was quoted as saying in the SonntagsZeitung.
This view was echoed by Free Democrat (FDP) Ruedi Noser in the NZZ am Sonntag newspaper.
Offshore tax havens have come under attack in recent years as cash-strapped governments seek to boost revenues in the wake of the financial crisis, forcing countries like Switzerland to pledge to cooperate more to help hunt tax cheats. Last week US authorities indicted three Credit Suisse private bankers for allegedly helping wealthy Americans evade taxes, bringing the total number of Credit Suisse bankers indicted to seven.
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