Igor S. Drabkin, J.D., Former IRS Attorney
After an announcement by one of the Swiss main political parties, SVP, it appears that the road for approval of the UBS deal by the Swiss Parliament is wide open. The right-wing SVP party, which was firmly opposed to the deal, decided to change its position in exchange for reassurances from the government hat it will not sign similar deals in the future. The SVP’s backing gives a clear majority to those supporting the UBS deal in the parliament.
The Swiss government has been asking for parliamentary backing of the UBS deal for a while, arguing that it is needed to avoid a U.S. backlash and protect Swiss banks. The Swiss parliament is expected to vote on the issue in June. Support for the deal would end a Swiss legal deadlock and allow Switzerland to pass on to U.S. tax authorities the names of 4,450 U.S. clients of UBS holding secret accounts in Switzerland.
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Author: Igor S. Drabkin, J.D., Former IRS Attorney.
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