Swiss inch towards UBS-US tax deal

15/06/10 19:19 CET

economy

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Swiss lawmakers continue to slowly inch towards approving a tax deal between UBS and the US authorities.

The parliament’s lower house has now backed it but called again for a referendum, which means the matter has to go back to the upper house, delaying a final vote until the end of the week.

It is not likely there will have to be a referendum and when both houses approve the deal it should draw a line under a legal case that has threatened to bring Switzerland’s biggest bank to its knees.

Under the agreement UBS avoided tax evasion charges by agreeing to hand over information to Washington about 4,450 UBS clients who dodged US taxes.

However giving the US Justice Department that data is against existing Swiss bank secrecy laws which need to be amended.

More about: Banking, Switzerland, UBS

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