News 
Austria / Switzerland: Plan for New Agreement
17 Feb, 2012
Austria has announced its intention to enter into an agreement with Switzerland similar to those recently signed by the latter with Germany and the UK. Under such an agreement, back taxes may be settled anonymously and a withholding tax applied to future income in exchange for non-disclosure of the funds and their beneficial Austrian owner.
The main provisions are to be:
• A 25% withholding tax levied on income and capital gains from bankable assets at the level of Swiss banks
• Based on the German-Swiss agreement, the Swiss banks will deduct a one-off lump-sum tax and transfer it to the Austrian tax authorities anonymously in order to settle Austrian taxes
• Payment of the lump-sum tax will have the same effect as a voluntary disclosure to the Austrian tax authorities
Further details will be reported as they become available.