Switzerland agreed to share information on Greek accounts held in Swiss banks on Tuesday, but declined to compensate Greece for tax income lost in the past from undisclosed accounts.
The two countries remained divided on how to solve the problem of untaxed Greek money held in secret Swiss accounts, even after Tuesday’s meeting between Swiss Finance Minister Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf and her Greek counterpart Yannis Stournaras in Athens
Greece wants to levy taxes on Greeks’ holdings in Swiss banks, and wants the Swiss government to pay a deposit towards these taxes. The Greek government also wants Switzerland to pay a deposit towards taxes Greece did not receive in the past.
Widmer-Schlumpf said Greece’s request to receive taxes for past funds was outdated – despite Switzerland having struck an arrangement to that effect with the U.K.
“We should be moving towards a different direction,” Widmer-Schlumpf said. However, Stournaras insisted: “We would like to have a similar model to the British one.”
