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Treasury deal to end Swiss tax haven comes under fire
Business digest: Tax grab will add £5bn to British coffers, but anti-tax-avoidance campaigners say deal is ‘appalling’
The UK Treasury has made a deal with the Swiss government in an attempt to crack down on tax evaders and recoup as much as £5bn in a move that anti-tax-avoidance campaigners are calling "appalling".
From 2013, Switzerland's government and bank will apply a "withholding" tax of 48 per cent on investments and 27 per cent on gains for companies based there who should be paying British tax. The account details will remain a secret. The deal also involved a £384m upfront payment as a gesture of goodwill by Switzerland.
Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne said the move would end the days when people could stash the profits of tax evasion in Switzerland.
But campaigner Richard Murphy, director of Tax Research UK, said: "It's an appalling deal for the UK, an appalling deal for Europe. The one-off tax of 34 per cent is much lower than they would have paid in the UK and in fines for avoiding it. This government is deliberately letting these people off."
Read a full report at the Guardian. ·
