Luxembourg, Switzerland Hold Tax Talks

by Ulrika Lomas, Tax-News.com, Brussels

20 September 2010

During a recent visit to Switzerland, Luxembourg’s Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker met with Swiss President Doris Leuthard and with Swiss Federal Councillor Hans-Rudolf Merz, head of the Federal Department of Finance (FDF), with the talks focusing on bilateral relations, economic, financial and fiscal issues as well as on the European policy of both countries.

Key topics raised during the course of the meeting included the euro zone currency crisis, multilateral cooperation and the challenges relating to international regulatory activities currently facing the financial centres of both countries. There was also an exchange of views on the idea of a financial transactions tax and a bank tax as well as on European policy and international developments.

Emphasizing the need to preserve a certain protection of individual privacy, Swiss President Leuthard rejected the idea of a “transparent citizen”, making clear that Switzerland would continue to rule out demands for an automatic exchange of tax information.

The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and Switzerland enjoy a long tradition of excellent and friendly bilateral relations. Multilingualism, the natural tendency to seek political consensus, a financial centre of international importance and the proximity of the government to the people are just some of the many characteristics shared by the two countries.

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