On November 18, the Head of the Tax Administration Service (SAT) and the Ambassador of the Swiss Confederation in Mexico signed the Joint Declaration between the Governments of both countries expressing their intention to automatically exchange financial information in accordance with international standards, in order to combat tax evasion.
In the aforementioned document, both countries expressed their commitment to adopt the Standard for Automatic Exchange of Information on Financial Accounts in Tax Matters developed by the Council of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), which will imply that, as far as Mexico is concerned, once the internal procedure in Switzerland has been exhausted, that country will be obliged to provide the Tax Administration Service (SAT) with information regarding financial investments (e.g. bank accounts) held by Mexican residents in that country.
Both countries will begin collecting the information in 2018 for the purpose of exchanging it starting in 2019, in accordance with the Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement on the Automatic Exchange of Financial Account Information in Tax Matters.
It should be noted that the approval of the automatic exchange of information with Mexico must comply with a strict legal procedure in Switzerland, which involves several stages ranging from consultations with the public and private sector, cantonal approvals and culminates with the approval by the Swiss Parliament, which could occur during 2017 in order for it to enter into force as of January 1, 2018.
At the same time, Switzerland signed similar documents with other Latin American countries such as Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay.
The lawyers of the tax area of the Firm are at your service to answer any questions regarding the scope and consequences of this information, as well as to guide you on how to comply with your tax obligations in an efficient legal manner, prior to the entry into force of this agreement.
ATTENTIVELY
Gerardo Nieto
nieto@basham.com.mx
Gil Zenteno
zenteno@basham.com.mx
Alejandro Barrera
barrera@basham.com.mx
Víctor Barajas
mbarajas@basham.com.mx
Mario Barrera
mbarrera@basham.com.mx
Mexico City, November 24, 2016.
