Switzerland signs tax information exchange agreement with Brazil

Bern, 24.11.2015 - On 23 November 2015 in Brasilia, Switzerland and Brazil signed a tax information exchange agreement (TIEA). The agreement with Brazil is the tenth TIEA signed by Switzerland.

Switzerland and Brazil are deepening their bilateral relations with the agreement. Switzerland will also be permanently removed from Brazil's blacklist of countries with an insufficient exchange of tax-related information, which will give Swiss companies operating in Brazil greater legal certainty and investment security. The agreement governs the exchange of information upon request in tax matters. In the future, the Swiss and Brazilian authorities will strive to further extend tax-related cooperation, which could also include the conclusion of provisions for the avoidance of double taxation.

The TIEA has to be approved by Parliament before it can come into force. It is subject to an optional referendum. During the hearing procedure which followed the completion of negotiations, the cantons and the business associations concerned expressed their support overall.

On 4 April 2012, the Federal Council decided to enter into administrative assistance agreements in accordance with the international standard not only in the form of double taxation agreements (DTAs) but also via TIEAs. In principle, DTAs and TIEAs are equivalent instruments for concluding an administrative assistance clause in accordance with the international standard. Unlike DTAs, which are aimed primarily at avoiding double taxation and therefore contain other material provisions, TIEAs merely govern the exchange of information upon request.