The devil is in the detail

For months now the Swiss financial services industry has been working overtime to prepare for the introduction of a withholding tax from 1 July 2005, according to the agreement Switzerland signed with the European Union (EU) to help the EU close a potential loophole in its Taxation of Savings Income Directive. Switzerland has always made it clear it will fulfil its obligations under this agreement both in terms of timing and implementation. The first step Switzerland had to take was to prepare the legal foundations for the withholding tax. Switzerland signed the agreement with the EU on 2...