A poll conducted by the SonntagsBlick newspaper has revealed that the Swiss government may be out of touch with the views of the people on banking secrecy.
The survey, released on Sunday, found that 53% of those questioned would like to see banking secrecy rules eased in cases of tax evasion by non-residents, and 55% believe that Switzerland should fall into line with legislation in other countries, and make tax evasion a prosecutable crime. 12% of respondents said that they would like to see banking secrecy rules scrapped altogether.
This comes as the Swiss government is fighting to defend the country's financial privacy laws against attack from the European Union. Crucial bilateral treaty negotaiations have ground to a halt because the Swiss authorities refuse to budge on indirect tax evasion and non-resident savings interest information exchange, although they are due to restart some time in May.
Speaking at the weekend, the Chairman of UBS, Marcel Ospel, defended banking secrecy, arguing that it is a key pillar of the Swiss economy:
'Protection of privacy and a liberal taxation system should not be sacrificed for second-rate negotiated achievements and poor compromises,' he told the Reuters news service.
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