Swiss Banking Secrecy; The Erosion of an Institution. IES WORKING PAPER 2/2008

Switzerland has for a long time been an important centre of banking services in Europe and beyond. Consequently, the banking sector has become important to Switzerland’s prosperity. This paper focuses on a central reason behind the success of the Swiss banking sector: the institution of banking secrecy, deeply enshrined in the Swiss history and tradition. The rapid development of international markets that eventually gave rise to a “group structuration process” has, however, progressively eroded Swiss banking secrecy. It has had to bend before the duty of transparency within the groups in order not to promote financial criminality through accelerated asset inflows. Switzerland has also had to develop a comprehensive legislative frame to tackle financial criminality, and to enter into international agreements providing for mutual assistance. This process has undoubtedly and irremediably weakened the Swiss banking secrecy. Most importantly, nevertheless, the questionable ethical and socio-economic grounds of this controversial institution could and should also start to erode it from within

Destination based taxation of corporate profits - preliminary findings regarding tax collection in cross-border situations

There is currently a strong movement in the academic discussion of direct taxation to shift corporation income taxes to a destination based system where the taxing rights would be allocated on the basis of the place of sales. Two major advantages of such a shift would include the removal of current complexities in corporate income tax systems and the curbing of tax base erosion and profit shifting opportunities for multinationals. Among the leading articles on the topic, only one of them develops on the issue of tax collection. In this paper the author suggests that this "implementation issue” is more than a detail because existing collection schemes will not do the job

ECJ Decisions in the Skellefteå Industrihus AB and Vittamed Cases: A Severe Blow to the Neutrality of the VAT System

This column discusses and criticises recent decisions rendered by the CJEU concerning the right to deduct input VAT. The author claims that by deciding that adjustments are required in case of aborted projects, the CJEU jeopardises this fundamental right of the taxpayer

The Use of Soft Law by the European VAT Legislator, and What the CJEU Makes of It

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