11 September 2019
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Italy's tax authorities have made a request to their Swiss counterparts for information about possible tax evasion by UBS clients, Swiss newspaper Tages-Anzeiger reported.
In the official Swiss Journal ("Bundesblatt"), the Swiss Federal Tax Administration (FTA) published a request for administrative assistance issued by the Italian Agenzia delle Entrate. The request concerns an undefined number of accounts held by Italian residents at UBS Switzerland between February 23, 2015 and December 31, 2016.
People covered by the request now have 20 days to make themselves known, the Swiss authorities said.
The bank is facing two separate investigations in Italy and a court case in France over allegations it enabled cross-border tax cheats to hide assets in Switzerland.
UBS has received various disclosure orders from the Swiss Federal Tax Administration based on requests for international administrative assistance in tax matters, a UBS spokesperson told Reuters.
"The bank has completed a tax compliance program with its European clients and implemented the Automatic Exchange of Information as the new international standard," she added. "UBS was among the first banks in the industry requiring documentation of tax disclosure from its clients."
In the past decade, Switzerland has undertaken significant efforts to combat international tax fraud and tax evasion.
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