Switzerland To Start Negotiations With Germany On DTA

by Ulrika Lomas, Tax-News.com, Brussels

27 August 2009

On 8 September 2009 Switzerland and Germany will start negotiations on revising their double taxation agreement (DTA) in Bern. The DTA is to be adapted in line with guidelines laid down by the Swiss Federal Council on extending administrative assistance in tax matters.

In March 2009 the Federal Council decided that Switzerland would adopt the OECD standard on administrative assistance in tax matters under Art. 26 of the OECD Model Convention. Subsequently the Federal Tax Administration and the German tax authorities conducted exploratory talks in Bern in April and in Berlin in July.

It was agreed to revise the DTA during the meeting between President Hans-Rudolf Merz and German Finance Minister Peer Steinbrück on 22 June 2009 in Berlin. President Merz nonetheless made it clear that Switzerland expects something in return for this, such as market access for Swiss financial intermediaries and concerning the taxation of Swiss flight personnel employed in Germany.

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