Federal Council adopts dispatch on the BEPS Convention
Silvia Hunziker
On 22 August 2018, the Federal Council adopted the dispatch on the multilateral agreement on the implementation of measures to prevent base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS). The message was referred to the Federal Councils.
Switzerland signed the BEPS Agreement on 7 June 2017. In the subsequent consultation process, the Convention was approved by a majority.
For the time being, the BEPS Convention is intended to bring the Swiss double taxation agreements (DTAs) with Argentina, Austria, Chile, the Czech Republic, Iceland, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Mexico, Portugal, South Africa, Portugal and Turkey into line with the agreement-related minimum standards set within the BEPS project. These states are prepared to agree with Switzerland on the exact wording of the DTAs to be adapted by the BEPS agreement.
The agreement-related BEPS minimum standards can be agreed not only through the BEPS agreement but also through bilateral amendments to the DTAs. For example, Switzerland has already incorporated these minimum standards into the DTAs with Brazil, Latvia, Kosovo, Pakistan, Zambia, Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom. Further revisions of DTAs are underway.
The Federal Council also adopted the dispatch on a protocol of amendment to the DTA with the United Kingdom on 22 August 2018.
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