Swiss customer banking secrets
The attention of the private sphere is a main support of the Swiss legal procedure, an expression of the individual liberty and deeply embodies in Switzerland. The culture of privacy expresses itself within different areas as for instance the secrecy of the doctor or the lawyer. Whereupon the customer banking secret is based on, which protects the privat sphere of finance affairs of domestic and foreign customers. Bank employees, external auditors and members of Swiss federal authorities who are involved in banking affairs are obligated to discretion.
Switzerland intensified its criminal legislation in order to meet the abuse of the customer banking secret particularly by the international organized crime and the banks imposed themselves to strict condition rules to the duty to exercise diligence. The customer banking secret is not absolute but invariably offers to the blameless customer the desired discretion.
The customer banking secret is a location advantage which is also claimed by other locations. However it is by far not done with discretion. Customers require an outstanding performance of their bank. They want to profit from the large experience, the comprehensive know-how and the innovation strength of the bankers in Switzerland. The political stability of our country, our currency, the SWX Swiss Exchange with their modern infrastructure and last but not least the touristy and cultural attractiveness of our country are further pluses of the finance location Switzerland.
As principle of the Swiss legal procedure and the direct responsibility of the citizens in relation to the state and its laws, each Swiss is obligated to indicate and to pay taxes to the fiscal authorities for his income and assets. Clearing taxes (tax at source) of 35 per cent on receipts from capital is a further characteristic of Swiss fiscal taxes. This tax contributes to the tax morality and returns to the taxpayer due to his declaration of his yields.
Each state is responsible for a regulated tax system and a reasonable tax burden. Governments must be conscious that an increasing burden weakens the own competitive situation in relation to other countries which leads finally to ever higher taxes.
In principle the state has two possibilities to get his money.
- A taxation at the source. This method is efficient and safe. Our country decided for this method connected with the obligation to information of third (among other things also the bankers) in the case of criminal cases, i.e. with tax evasion. This is the case for instance during the falsification of documents. Non-declaration or simple tax evasion of Swiss leads to additional taxes and to high penalties and is pursues in the administrative procedure.
- it offers a legally regulated disclosure duty to supply information of the financial intermediate. However, this second variant contradicts the right to privately sphere and could not be agreed with the Swiss legal procedure.
From July 01, 2005 the EU interest guideline enters into force. In principle all money agencies are obligated within the EU to announce interest yields of an EU foreigner to the respective domicile state by control report. Not to be seized are dividends and yields from life insurances. If you obtain e.g. interests on an account in France, your tax authorities will get automatically knowledge of it. An exception applies for Switzerland. Here a tax at source is introduced from 15 % first. However the identity of the respective investor will not admit.
The finance location Switzerland has a close network of laws and adjustments those to prevent that illegally acquired funds flow into our country. In the case of criminal machinations the same laws renders possible the complete obligation to information of the bankers and of international legal aid in criminal actions. This is the case for example with the suspicion of money laundering or the participation with a criminal organization.
All banks in Switzerland are not interested to attract criminal funds. Therefore they have extremely strict and international set up recognized rules for the identification of their customers. These so called «Know-Your-Customer-Rules» require of each employee to identify the customers with each opening of an account and must determine if necessary the economically entitled.
With the signing of the duty to exercise the diligence agreement by Swiss banks more than 20 years ago a pioneer achievement succeeded which was over taken by other finance locations later on.
Against the statements in detective stories, spy movies and in the media no anonymous accounts exist in Switzerland. The names of the owners of the number accounts are well-known, but only a small circle of people within the bank knows them. In relation to the customer banking secret there is no difference between a number account and other accounts.
The customer banking secret never applied absolutely. So Swiss bankers are obligated for example in criminal procedures to the information against their customers in principle and independently whether the criminal offence was committed in the inland or abroad. The customer banking secret offers to blameless customers the desired protection of the private sphere. This arrangement of the customers banking secret corresponds with Swiss feelings.
In Summary
Each constitutional state protects those private spheres of its citizens. In Switzerland this requirement on discretion
is a historically grown requirement which is settled in our legal procedures and in the standard of our values it is deeply
embodied. The customer banking secret is comparable to the medical secrecy or the professional
secrecy of the lawyer. In the fight against the organized crime and the money laundry the Swiss legislation was adapted
to the international standards in the process of time without touching the discretion of blameless customers. It does not
offer protection to criminals. Therefore Switzerland is today one of the cleanest financial locations at all.