France, Switzerland sign new inheritance tax deal

France and Switzerland have signed an agreement on inheritance tax that Paris hopes will help it bring in more money.
Under the agreement signed today, inheritances would be taxed based on where the recipient resides, not where the deceased lived, as used to be the case.
France, which taxes inheritance progressively up to 45 per cent, compared to Switzerland's maximum of 7 per cent, hopes the new agreement will make it harder for people living in France to evade taxes.
France is one of a growing number of cash-strapped governments trying to find tax cheats squirrelling away cash in Swiss accounts.

The agreement would also allow France to ask Switzerland to investigate suspicious bank activity even if it does not have the suspects' names.
Both countries' parliaments must approve the agreement.