Tax Transparency and Automatization – The Perspective of the Tax Administration EATLP Congress 2018 Zurich 8 June 2018 Christoph Schelling Ambassador, Head of Tax Division State Secretariat for International Finance SIF, Bern

Overview Interaction between Tax Authority and Taxpayer Tax Authority’s access to data & information in the hands of other persons or bodies Access to taxpayer data & information in the hands of the Tax Authority Cross-border information exchange and cooperation in tax matters Conclusion Tax Transparency and Automatization - The Perspective of the Tax Administration Christoph Schelling, EATLP Congress 2018 Zurich, 8 June 2018

(1) Interaction between Tax Authority and Taxpayer The role of the Tax Authority Switzerland is a Federal State: Tax authorities operate at the levels of the Confederation & the Cantons and Municipalities Cooperation Model: Tax Authority and Taxpayer Taxpayer’s obligation to cooperate Electronic filing and files Features underpinning the Cooperation Model: Withholding tax on capital income Information provided by or available from third sources Taxation upon Best Estimate of the Tax Authority Tax Readjustment & Penalties Tax Authority’s obligation to assess Taxpayer in respect of and based on the applicable law Tax Transparency and Automatization - The Perspective of the Tax Administration Christoph Schelling, EATLP Congress 2018 Zurich, 8 June 2018

(2) Tax Authority’s access to data & information in the hands of other persons or bodies Other administrative bodies and courts Third parties: esp. employers, creditors, fiduciaries and accountants, companies, pension funds Third parties: Swiss banks No access by Tax Authority, except for the Federal Tax Administration in cases of «continued evasion of large sums of taxes», with the assent of the Minister of Finance of the Confederation Access however by criminal prosecution authorites in cases of «tax fraud» (tax fraud meaning evasion by using false or falsified documents) Tax Transparency and Automatization - The Perspective of the Tax Administration Christoph Schelling, EATLP Congress 2018 Zurich, 8 June 2018

(3) Access to taxpayer data & information in the hands of the Tax Authority Constitutional Rights & Principles Taxpayer Access to the Tax Authority’s file re. the Taxpayer Tax Secrecy Principle & exceptions Information Exchange with other jurisdictions Data Protection Freedom of Information Tax Transparency and Automatization - The Perspective of the Tax Administration Christoph Schelling, EATLP Congress 2018 Zurich, 8 June 2018

(4) Cross-border information exchange and cooperation in tax matters Information Exchange upon Request: OECD standard based on Art. 26 of the Model Convention Spontaneous Information Exchange: esp. OECD standard re. tax rulings Automatic Information Exchange: esp. OECD standards re. financial account information & country-by-country reporting for large multinational enterprises Procedural Rights of persons subject to information exchange: Federal law on administrative assistance in tax matters & Federal law on automatic exchange of information The Federal Tax Administration acting as Competent Authority under international treaties Outbound information flows Inbound information flows Tax Transparency and Automatization - The Perspective of the Tax Administration Christoph Schelling, EATLP Congress 2018 Zurich, 8 June 2018

(5) Conclusion Tax Transparency and Automatization - The Perspective of the Tax Administration Christoph Schelling, EATLP Congress 2018 Zurich, 8 June 2018