Germany, Switzerland Reach Agreement in Tax Dispute

Posted August 10th, 2011 at 11:55 am (UTC-5)
Leave a comment

Germany has announced an agreement with Switzerland to resolve a long-running dispute over tax evasion.

The deal means that Swiss banks will pay the German government $2.7 billion to help cover the tax debt of Germans who have hidden their money in Swiss bank accounts.

The deal also gives Germans with previously undisclosed Swiss accounts a chance to make a one-time lump sum payment to the German government.

In the future, a flat tax of about 26 percent will be levied on the assets held by German citizens in Switzerland.

The settlement brings an end to Germany’s longstanding complaint about large amounts of undeclared assets hidden by Germans in Swiss banks.