The sun is
reflected at the logo of Swiss bank Credit Suisse at a branch
office in Basel
November 1, 2011. (Credit: Reuters/Arnd Wiegmann)
|
(Reuters) -
Swiss and U.S. officials have met in recent days in Berne to try to end a
long-running dispute over wealthy Americans using secret Swiss accounts to
dodge taxes, and seem to be getting closer to a deal, two newspapers reported
on Sunday.
The fact
that Michael Danilack of the U.S. Internal Revenue Service travelled to Berne
for the first time to meet Swiss negotiator Michael Ambuehl was seen as a
positive sign.
"That
shows the U.S. has a considerable interest in the negotiations and that a breakthrough
seems possible," an unnamed Swiss diplomat told the NZZ am Sonntag
newspaper.
Mario Tuor,
a spokesman for the Swiss secretariat for international financial affairs,
confirmed the talks had taken place, but declined to comment further beyond
saying more negotiations were planned.
The NZZ am
Sonntag and the SonntagsZeitung newspaper said the negotiators were seeking a
deal for the whole Swiss banking industry, as well as the 11 banks under formal
investigation over allegations they assisted tax evasion.
They
include Credit Suisse (CSGN.VX), Julius Baer (BAER.VX) and Basler Kantonalbank
(BSKP.S).
The Swiss
want the investigations dropped in return for payment of fines and the transfer
of hundreds, or even thousands, of names of clients suspected of tax evasion
but have been haggling over how to do this given strict bank secrecy laws.
The
SonntagsZeitung cited an unnamed source as saying negotiators are seeking two
parallel deals, one for the 11 banks under investigation, and a separate one
for the industry as a whole which would levy a punitive tax on undeclared
assets.
In 2009,
Swiss authorities reached a deal for UBS (UBSN.VX) to pay a fine of $780
million to avert criminal charges, and ultimately agreed to allow the bank to
reveal details of around 4,450 clients.
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