Federal Law on the International Automatic Exchange of Information in Tax Matters (LEAR)
Communication of informations as part of the Automatic Exchange of Information in tax matters
First exchange in 2018 concerning the 2017 calendar year
The Federal law on the international automatic exchange of information in tax matters (LEAR) and the Common Reporting Standards (CRS) came into force in Switzerland on 1 January 2017.
These were implemented with a number of “partner States” with which Switzerland has concluded a bilateral agreement or based on the Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement (MCAA).
These countries are currently the following: the 28 member States of the European Union (including the United Kingdom), Australia, Canada, Guernsey, Jersey, the Isle of Man, Iceland, Japan, Norway and South Korea.
A number of agreements that should enter into force in 2018 have been signed with 41 other countries.
The list of Switzerland’s partner States can be consulted at all times on the website of the State Secretariat for International Financial Matters (SIF), which can be accessed via the following link.
Blom Bank (Switzerland) SA is a “Reporting Financial Institution” and, as such, it will be required to communicate on an annual basis the financial information of clients domiciled in a partner State to the Swiss Federal Tax Administration, which will exchange it with its counterpart in the concerned jurisdiction.
These exchanges will begin with Switzerland as of 2018. The exchanged data will concern the past calendar year, i.e. for the first time the 2017 calendar year.
