Swiss bank account secrecy could be breached

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) is set to get access to previously secret bank accounts held in Switzerland.

Bringing in the end of the tradition of secrecy regarding Swiss bank accounts, HMRC is set to benefit from disclosure agreements German tax authorities have reached with the famous haven.

The new access could give the UK administration a way of tracing non-doms who have taken their money to Switzerland where tax rates are lower.

But the principles of secrecy, encoded in a 1934 law, will only be breached where the bank is seeking evidence of fraudulent behaviour.

Through a deal reached by EU partner Germany and Swiss authorities, the UK in effect could use the treaty of "mutual assistance" to override the right to privacy.

Clive Gawthorpe, partner at the accountants UHY Hacker Young, told the Sunday Times: "If the Revenue can use the Germans as a back door into Switzerland, that is a major coup in their battle against tax evasion from offshore bank accounts."