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The hunt for Swiss tax evaders abroad is at its peak. Last year, the Federal Tax Administration (ESTV) submitted 228 requests for international administrative assistance in tax matters. Five times more than in the previous record year 2020 – when there were only 46 applications.
The increase can be explained by the automatic exchange of information, says spokesman Patrick Teuscher. “During the automatic exchange of information, the FTA received data that required further clarification.” These clarifications would be made through requests for administrative assistance.
The legal basis for the automatic exchange of information has existed since 2017 and agreements with more than 100 countries are now in force. The free trade agreement does not want to disclose which countries Switzerland has addressed its requests to. What is clear, however, is that these are usually more complex cases where Switzerland has exhausted its own resources. Also often about companies and international companies.
Great Britain at the top
But it’s not just domestic tax evaders who make money. Foreign authorities are also on the hunt for tax evaders and fraudsters who have deposited their money in Switzerland. Last year, the Tax and Customs Administration received 25,348 requests for administrative assistance from abroad. A further increase after about 21,000 applications in the previous year.
The Free Trade Agreement does not give exact figures for individual countries, but only the top five countries of origin for individual requests. In 2022, Great Britain was at the top, followed by France, Denmark, Israel and Austria. The year before, France had taken first place.
Russia received no data
In its activity report, the free trade agreement states that last September, Switzerland exchanged financial account information with 101 countries as part of the automatic exchange of information. This happened reciprocally in 74 states. Switzerland received information from 27 states, but did not provide any. The report also states, “Russia has not received any data from Switzerland.”
Source:Blick
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