Tax Treaty Case Law around the Globe 2022

31.1. Introduction

When Switzerland started fully incorporating article 26 of the OECD Model into its tax treaties in 2009, thereby partly lifting the veil of banking secrecy, it kicked off a veritable avalanche of information requests from its treaty partners. Thirteen years later this avalanche has yet to subside. Of course, treaty partners’ appetite for information stored in Switzerland did not come as a surprise, given the vast amounts of private wealth managed by Swiss banks. Equally unsurprisingly, taxpayers, holders of information and third parties in whose information treaty partners take an interest do not usually appreciate for their information to be shared with foreign authorities. As a result, the two Swiss courts competent in matters of international administrative assistance, the Federal Administrative Court and the Swiss Supreme Court, have had to deal with innumerable appeals against decisions of the Swiss competent authority, the Swiss Federal Tax Administration (SFTA). In so doing, these courts have produced a great deal of case law in relation to article 26 of the OECD Model, sometimes addressing and settling controversial issues that would, a few years down the ...