Spain asks for Swiss assistance in tax matters: UBS

For years, strict Swiss bank secrecy laws helped the world’s super-rich keep their money hidden from the taxman.

Spain has asked Switzerland for help on tax matters, UBS said on Friday, making it the latest European country to look into foreign account holders at Swiss banks.

For years, strict Swiss bank secrecy laws helped the world’s super-rich keep their money hidden from the taxman. Since the financial crisis, however, cash-strapped governments around the world have clamped down on tax evasion.

The Spanish request for support from Switzerland’s tax agency follows similar requests from France and the Netherlands earlier this year.

“Spanish tax authorities have filed a request for international administrative assistance in tax matters with the Swiss Federal Tax Administration,” UBS said in a brief statement on its website for the bank’s Spanish business.

Switzerland’s Federal Tax Administration and Spain’s tax authorities declined to comment.

Asked for further comment, UBS said it had largely completed a compliance programme with clients based in Europe.

UBS, Switzerland’s biggest bank, said in July that Switzerland’s tax agency had ordered the bank to provide France with tax
information, adding that it expected other countries to file similar requests.