A major tax agreement between the US and Switzerland has been rejected by the Swiss parliament.

The deal would have paved the way for Swiss banking giant UBS to disclose account details to US tax authorities.

The late vote by Switzerland’s lower house of parliament is unlikely to kill off the deal, but may mean weeks of delay.

The deal had been agreed in order to head off possible US charges against UBS for aiding tax evasion.

The US alleged that 4,450 of its citizens hold secret accounts with UBS, and the bank has admitted that its managers helped US citizens evade their taxes.

“The Swiss government feared this could mean the end for UBS, which was already struggling with huge sub-prime losses,” says the BBC’s Imogen Foulkes in Switzerland.

via BBC News – UBS-US tax deal rejected by Switzerland’s parliament.

A major tax agreement between the US and Switzerland has been rejected by the Swiss parliament.

The deal would have paved the way for Swiss banking giant UBS to disclose account details to US tax authorities.

The late vote by Switzerland’s lower house of parliament is unlikely to kill off the deal, but may mean weeks of delay.

The deal had been agreed in order to head off possible US charges against UBS for aiding tax evasion.

The US alleged that 4,450 of its citizens hold secret accounts with UBS, and the bank has admitted that its managers helped US citizens evade their taxes.

“The Swiss government feared this could mean the end for UBS, which was already struggling with huge sub-prime losses,” says the BBC’s Imogen Foulkes in Switzerland.

via BBC News – UBS-US tax deal rejected by Switzerland’s parliament.