UK in talks to tax Swiss bank accounts

Chancellor George Osborne and his Swiss opposite number Hans-Rudolf Merz have apparently found a way around Switzerland’s notorious banking secrecy laws. They intend to hammer out an agreement that will ensure wealthy British residents pay tax on at least some of the money they hide there.

A Treasury source said Switzerland had agreed "to begin ministerial negotiations with the aim that UK residents with Swiss bank accounts pay tax on the interest they earn". However, the agreement means that wealthy individuals will for the moment avoid paying tax on the full amount of money they have deposited.

Talks on the exact form and rate of the new tax will begin next year, but it is thought the levy would be imposed by Switzerland and handed over to the UK. Of great interest is how the authorities intend to enforce the tax, since bank accounts will retain their secrecy.

However, the UK is not alone in pressuring Geneva: it is believed Germany is also in negotiations to instigate a similar regime.

Read a full report at the Daily Telegraph. ·