Bern, 25.07.2013 – The Federal Tax Administration (FTA) has transferred the first tranche from the retrospective taxation of assets to the Austrian and UK tax authorities and forwarded the first declarations concerning the disclosure of assets
Bern, 25.07.2013 – The Federal Tax Administration (FTA) has transferred the first tranche from the retrospective taxation of assets to the Austrian and UK tax authorities and forwarded the first declarations concerning the disclosure of assets. Converted into Swiss francs, approximately CHF 900 million was transferred in tax and around CHF 12 billion of assets disclosed.
Switzerland thereby fulfilled an obligation which is set out in the bilateral withholding tax agreements with the two countries. This transfer of funds and forwarding of declarations constitutes the first in a series of tranches which will be carried out in the coming months. These measures enable the assets in Switzerland of bank clients residing in Austria and the United Kingdom to be regularised from a tax viewpoint.
The first transfer to the United Kingdom amounted to GBP 258.3 million (or CHF 372 million), while EUR 416.7 million (CHF 515 million) was transferred to Austria. As an alternative to paying the withholding tax, Austrian and UK taxpayers with a bank account or securities deposit in Switzerland can disclose their account details to the tax authorities in their respective countries.
Related
The FTA recorded 14,789 declarations for the United Kingdom concerning the disclosure of GBP 4.5 billion of assets (CHF 6.4 billion) and 13,592 declarations for Austria concerning assets amounting to EUR 4.4 billion (CHF 5.4 billion). The regularisation of so-called legacy assets has thus begun and is being implemented according to the respective agreements. Withholding tax on capital income generated on bank accounts or securities deposits after the entry into force of the agreements will be forwarded from 2014 onwards.
Read more on Switzerland and tax
Content from our partners
