UK Swiss Tax agreement

Worried about making tax disclosure? Contact Mercer & Hole’s Private Client experts and they will guide you through your options

On the 6 October 2011 the Governments of Switzerland and the UK signed a tax agreement. The agreement is due to be enforced from 1 January 2013. For those who have undeclared assets in Switzerland (subject to the proposed one-off withholding tax) there are various options available and should be considered without delay, including the Liechtenstein Disclosure Facility (LDF).

How we can help

We can help you understand the UK Swiss agreement, clarify your tax position and/or your rights and obligations under the agreement and identify the best course of action for you.

UK-resident individuals holding bankable assets in an account in Switzerland, including individuals who are resident, but not domiciled in the UK, have the following options:

OPTION 1	Preserve your anonymity by accepting a one-off tax charge of between 19% and 34% of the value of the account on 31 December 2010. Taxpayers who pay the levy and withholding tax will be able to retain anonymity (subject to EU approval).
OPTION 2	Close your account and move the funds to another jurisdiction outside of Switzerland before 31 May 2013. Note: HMRC have access to the top 10 countries from which money is transferred from Switzerland.
OPTION 3 (i)	Authorise your bank to disclose details of income and gains to HMRC and avoid one-off levy and future withholding tax. Previously non-compliant individuals who hold a Swiss bank account or who hold investments in a Swiss structure, may be able to take advantage of HMRC’s Liechtenstein Disclosure Facility (LDF) in order to disclose any UK tax irregularities they may have.
OPTION 3 (ii)	Authorise your bank to disclose details of income and gains to HMRC and avoid one-off levy and future withholding tax. Individuals who have previously been non-compliant can approach HMRC to make disclosure. Note: HMRC would still be able to go back up to 20 years to investigate and recover any unpaid tax, and there remains the possibility of prosecution for tax offences.
OPTION 3 (iii)	Authorise your bank to disclose details of income and gains to HMRC and avoid one-off levy and future withholding tax. Full disclosure of untaxed Swiss income and gains to HMRC. HMRC will then seek unpaid taxes, interest and penalties from this disclosure. Taxpayer's accounts will not be subject to the one off charge and future withholding tax. The taxpayer must inform their banks that they have chosen to disclose, otherwise the one-off levy will be automatically applied.
OPTION 4*	Accept a withholding tax in line with your UK tax treatment – i.e. on UK-source income and taxable remittances. Assess unpaid taxes at a fixed rate of 34% on undeclared remittance and UK source income post 31 December 2002. Provide bank with a non-dom certificate from a regulated professional.
OPTION 5*	Opting out of one-off levy through a ‘declaration of intent’. By 31 March 2012 you must provide your Swiss bank with a 'declaration of intent' to claim the remittance basis for the tax year 2012/2013. After the end of the 2012/2013 tax year and by no later than 31 March 2014, you must then provide the bank with a non-dom certificate from a regulated professional.

* Option only available to certified non-doms with remittance basis claim.

Experience and technical excellence

Mercer & Hole are ranked in Private Client Practitioner’s Top 25 UK Accountants for 2012. Our private client experts have a wealth of experience and can answer your questions about the UK Swiss agreement and the options available to you in a clear and concise manner.

Within our private client team we have fluent speakers in German and French and our experts have already helped a number of people understand the UK Swiss agreement, the LDF and, where appropriate, voluntarily disclose of unpaid UK tax liabilities to HMRC.

Speak to us

Contact any of our private client experts and we can arrange to see you for an initial free confidential, no obligation consultation at any of our Mercer & Hole offices.

Gill Tallon T: +44 (0)20 7353 1597 T: +44 (0)1727 869141 gilltallon@mercerhole.co.uk
Lisa Spearman T: +44 (0)20 7353 1597 T: +44 (0)1908 605552 lisaspearman@mercerhole.co.uk
Helen Price T: +44 (0)1727 869141 helenprice@mercerhole.co.uk
Liz Cuthbertson T: +44 (0)20 73531597 lizcuthbertson@mercerhole.co.uk

UK Swiss Tax agreement

Worried about making tax disclosure? Contact Mercer & Hole’s Private Client experts and they will guide you through your options

How we can help

Experience and technical excellence

Speak to us

Contact our UK Swiss Tax Agreement experts