Zurich – There are no indications that German money held in Swiss bank accounts is being funneled to Singapore to protect it from German tax authorities, a Swiss newspaper quoted the country‘s finance minister as saying Saturday.
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Recent reports of such tax-dodging schemes have sparked a renewed outcry in Germany against a planned treaty between Switzerland and Germany designed to help Germany recoup some taxes from money held in Swiss accounts.
German opposition politicians have decried the deal – under which Swiss banks would continue to guard the identities of account holders, but hand over a 26.4-per-cent flat tax to Germany of the money held in those accounts – saying it does not go far enough in clawing back money from people trying to avoid tax payments.
Those howls only got louder after reports of an alleged Singapore connection were released, along with reports that Swiss banks had come up with a handful of other plans to help German clients avoid paying taxes once the treaty takes effect.
The treaty is currently designed to take effect on January 1, though ratification has been held up in Germany due to the objections.
Swiss Finance Minister Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf told the Aargauer Zeitung that she saw “no indications” of any plan to funnel money to Singapore. She noted that the treaty was “designed so that money isn‘t just shoved anywhere, but taxed here under acceptable conditions.”
She added that banks had agreed not to conduct any such international transfers once the treaty comes into power.
She said the treaty remains the best way for Germany and Switzerland to work out their differences on untaxed income.
“The problem with the abuse of banking secrecy has to be resolved one way or another. We no longer want to have untaxed foreign assets in Switzerland.”
According to German Finance Ministry data released earlier this year, German citizens have hidden up to 80 billion euros (98.3 billion dollars) in Swiss accounts.