Swiss look to tackle multinational tax avoidance

Switzerland has set into motion its commitment to stamp out tax avoidance carried out by many multinational corporations. The government has initiated a consultation procedure for country-by-country reporting for Swiss registered international firms. If the proposal becomes law, firms would have to report their business activities and tax payments in each country. This is designed to stop companies funnelling taxable profits from high tax countries to those that demand lower levies. The common practice has been heavily criticised for artificially draining tax revenues from both advanced and developing economies. In January, Switzerland was among 31 countries to sign in Paris the Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement on the Exchange of Country-by-Country Reports. The agreement is part of the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) project launched jointly by the G20 countries and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The ...