Switzerland assures full cooperation on tax issues

Switzerland on Wednesday assured India of full cooperation on tax information exchange and agreed to discuss the issue of unaccounted money stashed in Swiss banks.

This assurance was given during a meeting Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had with his Swiss counterpart Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum (WEF) meet.

“We had an excellent meeting. There are opportunities for a lot of cooperation with India,” Widmer-Schlumpf said.

When asked about specific details on discussions around the unaccounted money issue, she said both sides had agreed to carry forward the talks.

“We have agreed to carry forward the talks and cooperation. Everything cannot be disclosed publicly but we had an excellent meeting,” she said.

India has been making all efforts to bring back unaccounted money stashed by its citizens in foreign jurisdictions, especially Switzerland.

Earlier in the day, Jaitley had said he would discuss the issue of black money with his Swiss counterpart. The meeting happened at the Make In India lounge and they were served Darjeeling tea.