The automatic exchange of information in tax matters was adopted by the Council of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) on July 15, 2014, and in Switzerland the legal basis for the implementation of AEOI entered into force on January 1, 2017.
Financial information of all types of investment income and account balances including the name, address, country of residence and tax identification number as well as details of the reporting financial institution are collected and transmitted to the FTA and made available to the competent tax authority if citizens are tax residents abroad.
By 2021, information on approximately 3.3 million financial accounts had been exchanged with 96 countries, 70 of which were reciprocal, while information was received from 26 but none was sent. Around 8500 reporting financial institutions (banks, trusts, insurance companies, etc.) are registered with the FTA.
Thanks to the exchanged information, the cantonal tax authorities verify whether the taxpayers have fully declared their foreign assets.
