Switzerland and the United States agreed on a new Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), with the exception of accounts belonging to lawyers and notaries.
In accordance with the provision of the agreement, an account maintained for specific purposes by lawyers and notaries to their customers (ie accounts that are for certain activities) will be excluded from the scope of the new law. The financial institution account management will not be required to identify interested customers by providing written confirmation of a lawyer or notary that the accounts fall under the scope of the exemption clause.
According to the Swiss Federal Council, this will ensure that professional confidentiality of lawyers and notaries will be maintained under Swiss law. Swiss Bankers Association will amend the relevant processes documentation to allow banks implement new products.
Negotiations on the introduction of the new agreement are underway. In contrast to the current transaction, the new agreement will provide for the automatic exchange of information between the tax authorities.