Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: A Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) team would leave for Switzerland on Thursday to hold talks with Swiss authorities for reaching an agreement on information sharing about the money stashed by Pakistanis in Swiss banks. FBR member and spokesman Dr Iqbal said that the FBR team would move to Bern for a second round of talks with Swiss tax authorities to amend the existing double taxation avoidance agreement. Both sides would discuss incorporating such provisions in the amendment under which Pakistan and Swiss tax authorities would be able to obtain information about bank accounts of each other’s citizens. The Finance Ministry sources said that Switzerland, being member of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), was asked to share information with other member countries about the wealth stashed in fake accounts. On the recommendations of OECD, Switzerland introduced Return of Elite East Act under which it has been made mandatory for Switzerland to provide information to those countries about the money stashed in its banks by their citizens with which it has signed agreement on double taxation avoidance and the clause of sharing information is also made part of this agreement. Under such agreements, the United Kingdom and other countries are obtaining information from Swiss banks about bank accounts of their nationals.