A deal has been signed between the European Union (EU) and Switzerland in an effort to clamp down on tax evasion.
The European Commission (EC) confirmed the agreement which, from 2018, will see the EU and Switzerland exchange information on the bank accounts held by their citizens. This means, in theory, EU residents will be blocked from hiding undeclared earnings in Swiss banks.
Fighting tax evasion: EU and Switzerland sign historic #taxtransparency agreement http://t.co/EB5phvqcqv pic.twitter.com/aOM3OK82XT— European Commission (@EU_Commission) May 27, 2015
EU Commissioner Pierre Moscovici called the deal for an automated exchange of information “another leap towards fairer taxation in Europe.”
In 2014, EU countries also agreed to ‘strengthen transparency’ among member states.
The EC is in the process of negotiating similar deals with Monaco, Liechtenstein and Andorra, in an effort to end banking secrecy.