Paradise lost

Switzerland has paved the way to be dropped from a so-called grey list of uncooperative tax havens, after signing a necessary 12th new bilateral taxation agreement with Qatar.

Swiss President Hans-Rudolf Merz signed the treaty with Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassim Bin Jabr Al-Thani on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York late on Thursday.

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) demands that countries listed on the grey list sign at least 12 bilateral tax cooperation treaties before they lose that stigma.

Switzerland has also signed deals with Norway, Denmark, Finland, the Faroe Islands, Great Britain, France, Luxembourg, Austria, Mexico, Spain and the United States.

However, OECD head, Angel Guerria, stressed that Switzerland not only had to sign agreements but also work toward "effective implementation."

The Alpine state, which has faced strong international pressure to join the global hunt for tax evaders, caved in earlier this year, saying it would improve cooperation with foreign tax authorities.

However, the Swiss government emphasized that banking secrecy would be maintained as long as no tax offences were committed.

"Banking secrecy offers no protection in the case of tax offences. As a result of the globalization of financial markets and particularly against the backdrop of the financial crisis, international cooperation in the area of taxes has grown in importance," the Swiss Federal Department of Finance said in a statement upon completion of the 12th deal.

nk/dpa/AP
Editor: Andreas Illmer