We are witness of the most important changes in history of international taxation within the last 40 years. The bank secrecy for tax purposes does not exist anymore. OECD Common Reporting Standards and the Automatic Exchange of Information have destroyed the reason to exist for classic offshore companies. If you still have black money in Switzerland, you should do right things now. If you do nothing, the chances you will end in prison losing all of your money are very high. This video offers 3 tips how to save your money and protect your assets.

Are you interested in First-Class Information about Private Banking?
Do you want an inside look behind the Secrets of Private Banks?

More than 110 countries, including Hong Kong, Dubai, Liechtenstein, Cayman Island, have signed agreements on the Automatic Exchange of Information for bank account information of non-resident bank clients. The banks will report non-resident clients based on the Common Reporting Standard. What is exactly the reportable information according to the Common Reporting Standard?

Black Money in Switzerland? What is important for 2017/2018

Name of the client of the bank, address, nationality, date and place of birth, tax identification number, account-number, account balance, name of the bank, capital gain and income of the bank account. Who is reported? All physical persons and all entities but there are more than 40 loopholes with the AEI and CRS. The Common Reporting Standard should be implemented gradually until 2018. The technical set-up in most of the signatory states will not be ready for 2018 – except in Switzerland. The Automatic Exchange of Information has arrived on paper but will be implemented much later than 2018.

All the banks – except the Swiss banks – have not the IT systems in place to process all the data. Based on the procedure for the international administrative assistance the OECD counties have created the so-called Group Request. Based on a Group Request the foreign tax authorities can ask all the names of all account holders with closed accounts having a so-called “retained mail” agreements.

A typical foreign client of a Swiss bank has agreed with the Swiss bank to keep and retain the mail in order to avoid sending mail with account information to the domicile of the client. My Advice: Change the hold mail agreement with your bank and send your bank mail to a lawyer. I have much more tips for you to save your money and win time to start with the Voluntary Disclosure program. A Group Request has always to be specific and must be based on specific facts such as all account holders having transferred the residence to Switzerland recently.

There is a new industry in Dubai helping bank account holders to transfer their fiscal residence to Dubai for ca. USD 30’000. The bank account holder travels to Dubai for a week and a specialized agent in Dubai will manage all the paper work necessary to transfer the fiscal residence to Dubai. One’s a year a very short physical presence in Dubai is needed to preserve the residence permit. This new documents collected, within a week’s time only, evidencing the new fiscal residence in Dubai, are created with the unique purpose to be presented to the Swiss bank. The Swiss bank will send the information on the client according to the CRS standard to Dubai. The tax authority in Dubai does not care if the account holder has a bank account in Switzerland because in Dubai there is no taxation anyway.

What you can do with black money in Switzerland

I assume that most of such account holders travelling to Dubai just to create new residence documents for the bank account will never be effectively resident in Dubai. Sooner or later, the tax authorities in Europe realize that the residence in Dubai is fabricated. In some cases it can be useful to gain time before filing for a Voluntary Disclosure Program. Many professionals working in the private banking industry are aware on the Dubai solution. There are many law firms in Malta offering new residence to clients in Malta for EUR 15’000 only.

If you want to transfer your fiscal residence just for the purposes of the AEI, you should be aware that the tax authorities in your country are not stupid. Such easy change of residence in the very last moment can be very dangerous. A change of fiscal residence should be prepared by a professional and the client should live in the new place of residence at least for a substantial period of time and collect documentary evidence proving that he physically lives in Dubai or in Malta. Tax authorities will gain more power in the near future. That’s why I always advice my clients to participate to a Voluntary Disclosure Program. There is no free lunch anymore.

If you still have non-declared funds or tax-neutral funds with Swiss banks I strongly advise you to contact me, immediately. Time is crucial in such a situation. We check your specific situation on a case by case basis. Each single case is different. We assisted many international clients to make their assets become tax-compliant based on a Voluntary Disclosure Program or based on a self-declaration.

My most important tip is to do the things in the right way and in legal way. Save your black money with a Voluntary Disclosure Program or with a self-declaration will be much more convenient instead risking your money and years in prison due to a cheap solution in Dubai or in Malta. Let’s discuss together how you can stay on the safe side.

We support you and we analyse all of your options. If you have a problem with black money, pick up the phone now and give me a call.

Be rich and remain rich. Have a wonderful day.