Swiss Ease Bank Secrecy in New Treaty With Britain

Switzerland and Britain signed a new treaty that gives British tax authorities more access to banking information, and brings Switzerland closer to being removed from a list of international tax havens.

The deal contains a provision for an exchange of information in accordance with standards set by the Organization for Cooperation and Economic Development, the Swiss government said on Monday.

It comes shortly after Switzerland signed a tax deal with France, in which it agreed to share banking information upon request with France’s tax authorities as of Jan. 1, 2010.

The Swiss must sign 12 new tax treaties by the end of this year to be removed from the O.E.C.D.’s “gray list” of tax havens. In March, Switzerland agreed to relax its strict bank secrecy rules and embrace tax cooperation norms set by the organization as the G-20 countries began an offensive on tax evasion.

The Swiss deal with Britain follows the signing of a deal between Liechtenstein and Britain less than a month ago, which is aimed at encouraging British clients with secret bank accounts to voluntarily disclose billions of pounds of untaxed money.

Switzerland has yet to reach an agreement with Germany, which faces a general election later this month and has been one of the most vocal critics of Swiss banking secrecy. Negotiations, however, are set to begin in the coming days.

Last month, Switzerland agreed to reveal the names of about 4,450 wealthy American clients of UBS to United States authorities in a tax dispute settlement that pierced its vaunted bank secrecy.