Switzerland on the “grey list” of tax havens?
After the top 20 economies resolved to crack down on tax havens worldwide at a meeting in the beginning of April, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) mentioned Switzerland among jurisdictions that do not have appropriately implemented international standards regarding taxation.
This put Switzerland on the “grey list” of tax havens. However, the government of Switzerland reacted sharply to such classification and said it was not actually a ‘tax haven’.
Still, according to a report issued by the Swiss Federal Department of Justice and Police (FDJP), the number of Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) in connection with money laundering increased from 795 in 2007 to 851 in 2008. The FDJP said in a statement said that “the increase was due mainly to the greater volume of reports from the banking sector, which reached a new record high” and stated that “the total value of assets involved doubled to reach an all-time high of CHF 1.87 billion Swiss francs (USD 1.65 billion)”.