On November 11, 2016 the Swiss Federal Department of Finance issued a press release announcing that the Swiss – Austrian Agreement on cooperation in the fields of taxation and the financial market (Withholding tax agreement) is to be terminated as per January 1, 2017. As per that same date, the agreement between Switzerland and the EU on the automatic exchange of information in tax matters will enter into force. In the same press release it is announced that on November 11, 2016 Switzerland and Austria signed a corresponding agreement in Bern to ensure a smooth transition between the two models.
The withholding tax agreement between Switzerland and Austria entered into force on January 1, 2013. It allowed the regularisation of assets held in Switzerland by Austrian taxpayers and the taxation of income generated by these assets based on the Federal Council's financial integrity strategy. In accordance with this agreement, Austrian taxpayers had the option of either paying withholding tax levied directly on their accounts and anonymously transmitted to the Austrian authorities or opting for voluntary disclosure. According to the FDF this model loses its reason to exist at all with the introduction of the automatic exchange of information between Switzerland and the EU as of January 1, 2017.
The press release furthermore states the following:
“The termination agreement governs in particular the arrangements for transferring the last tax amounts and the forwarding of the last voluntary disclosures to the Austrian tax authorities. The provisions of the withholding tax agreement will continue to apply for all facts and legal rights that materialised during its period of validity. Furthermore, the MoU between the two countries on market access issues will remain in force.”
Switzerland also concluded a withholding tax agreement with the United Kingdom, which according to the Swiss FDF has to be terminated when switching to the automatic exchange of information standard with the EU.
Click on the language of your choice to be forwarded to the text of the Agreement of November 11, 2016 between the Swiss Confederation and the Republic of Austria terminating the Agreement of April 13, 2012 between the Swiss Confederation and the Republic of Austria on cooperation in the field of taxation and financial markets. (German, French and Italian)
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