IRS Group Requests to Swiss FTA for Swiss Bank Customer Information Behind Aggregation Information Disclosures Under FATCA (12/6/20)

The U.S. IRS has made group requests to the Swiss Federal Tax Administration (“FTA”) for customer account information from Swiss banks provided aggregate information under FATCA.  At U.S. Behest, Swiss Pry Open Bank Accounts: Geneva Blocks Funds in U.S. Tax Case (Finews 12/4/20), here.  The FTA has notified the Banks of a process to respond to such requests.  See notices on the Swiss FTA sight here; as listed the banks are (with an indication of which of them joined the DOJ Swiss Bank Program, here):

• AROFIN SA
• Bank Vontobel AG
• Banque Pictet & Cie SA
• Barclays Bank (Suisse) SA
• CA Indosuez (Switzerland) SA / Crédit Agricole (Suisse) SA
• FIBI (Suisse) SA en liquidation (entretemps radiée)
• Hinduja Banque (Suisse) SA
• Mirabaud & Cie SA
• Notenstein La Roche Privatbank AG (Bank Vontobel AG)
• PKB PRIVATBANK SA (DOJ Swiss Bank Program)
• Schroder & Co Bank AG (DOJ Swiss Bank Program)
• Union Bancaire Privée, UBP SA (DOJ Swiss Bank Program)
• Zuger Kantonalbank (DOJ Swiss Bank Program

I have not compared the various notices to see if they are all alike except for the names of the banks involved, but I provide the English part of the notice for two of the Banks -- Banque Pictet & Cie SA  and Union Bancaire Privee, UBP SA.

Banque Pictet & Cie SA, here 

BBl 2020

9127

Notification from the Swiss Federal Tax Administration (FTA) – Administrative assistance

Based on Art. 12 para. 1 of the Federal Act of 27 September 2013 on the Implementation of the FATCA Agreement between Switzerland and the United States (FATCA Act; SR 672.933.6), the FTA makes the following announcement:

1. By letters dated 15 October 2020, the competent authority of the United States of America (Internal Revenue Service; hereinafter: «IRS») requests the FTA for administrative assistance based on Art. 5 of the Agreement of 14 February 2013 between Switzerland and the United States of America for Cooperation to Facilitate the Implementation of FATCA (FATCA Agreement; SR 0.672.933.63) and Article 26 of the Agreement of 2 October 1996 between the Swiss Confederation and the United States of America for the Avoidance of Double Taxation with Respect to Taxes on Income (DTA CH-US; SR 0.672.933.61) as amended by the Protocol of 23 September 2009.

Information is requested concerning accounts that were identified as US accounts or as accounts of nonparticipating financial institutions to which foreign reportable amounts had been paid, which the financial institution Banque Pictet & Cie SA – in the absence of a consent to the reporting of account information – has reported to the IRS in aggregated form for the years 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 pursuant to Art. 3 para. 1 let. b (iii) and para. 2 let. a (ii) of the FATCA Agreement.

2. The specified US persons and nonparticipating financial institutions concerned by one or more of these group requests as well as any other parties to the account relationships concerned may submit their opinion on the intended transmission of their data to the IRS within 20 days after publication of this notification (Art. 12 para. 1 let. c FATCA Act). The same applies to the legal successors of any deceased contracting parties to the account relation-ships concerned.

3. The FTA will issue a final decree for each account relationship concerned by a group request (Art. 12 para. 1 lit. b FATCA Act). If the delivery of the final decree is requested, the persons mentioned in point 2 are required to provide the FTA with their Swiss address if they are domiciled in Switzerland, or to designate a person in Switzerland authorised to receive service if they are domiciled abroad. Legal successors of deceased contracting parties to the account relationships concerned must also submit a certificate of inheritance to the FTA.

The time limit for providing the above information is 20 days, beginning on the day following the publication of this notification. The information should be sent to the FTA either by e-mail to amtshilfe.usa@estv.admin.ch or to the following address:

Swiss Federal Tax Administration FTA, Eigerstrasse 65, CH-3003 Bern

BBl 2020

9128

4. It is possible to participate in the simplified procedure in accordance with Art. 16 of the Federal Act of 28 September 2012 on International Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters (TAAA; SR 651.1). If the person entitled to appeal consents to the transmission of information to the IRS under the simplified procedure, that person must notify the FTA in writing. This consent is irrevocable. The FTA closes the procedure by transmitting the information to the IRS with reference being made to the consent of the person entitled to appeal.

5. If a person entitled to appeal does not consent to the simplified procedure and has not notified the FTA of a Swiss address or a person in Switzerland authorised to receive service, the FTA notifies the final decree on an anonymous basis by a publication in the Federal Gazette and on its website (Art. 5 para. 3 let. b FATCA Agreement).

1 December 2020 Federal Tax Administration

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Union Bancaire Privee, UBP SA, here.

 BBl 2020

9147

Notification from the Swiss Federal Tax Administration (FTA) – Administrative assistance

Based on Art. 12 para. 1 of the Federal Act of 27 September 2013 on the Implementation of the FATCA Agreement between Switzerland and the United States (FATCA Act; SR 672.933.6), the FTA makes the following announcement:

1. By letters dated 15 and 29 December 2020, the competent authority of the United States of America (Internal Revenue Service; hereinafter: «IRS») requests the FTA for administrative assistance based on Art. 5 of the Agreement of 14 February 2013 between Switzerland and the United States of America for Cooperation to Facilitate the Implementation of FATCA (FATCA Agreement; SR 0.672.933.63) and Article 26 of the Agreement of 2 October 1996 between the Swiss Confederation and the United States of America for the Avoidance of Double Taxation with Respect to Taxes on Income (DTA CH-US; SR 0.672.933.61) as amended by the Protocol of 23 September 2009.

Information is requested concerning accounts that were identified as US accounts or as accounts of nonparticipating financial institutions to which foreign reportable amounts had been paid, which the financial institution Union Bancaire Privée, UBP SA – in the absence of a consent to the reporting of account information – has reported to the IRS in aggregated form for the years 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 pursuant to Art. 3 para. 1 let. b (iii) and para. 2 let. a (ii) of the FATCA Agreement.

2. The specified US persons and nonparticipating financial institutions concerned by one or more of these group requests as well as any other parties to the account relationships concerned may submit their opinion on the intended transmission of their data to the IRS within 20 days after publication of this notification (Art. 12 para. 1 let. c FATCA Act). The same applies to the legal successors of any deceased contracting parties to the account relation-ships concerned.

3. The FTA will issue a final decree for each account relationship concerned by a group request (Art. 12 para. 1 lit. b FATCA Act). If the delivery of the final decree is requested, the persons mentioned in point 2 are required to provide the FTA with their Swiss address if they are domiciled in Switzerland, or to designate a person in Switzerland authorised to receive service if they are domiciled abroad. Legal successors of deceased contracting parties to the account relationships concerned must also submit a certificate of inheritance to the FTA.

The time limit for providing the above information is 20 days, beginning on the day following the publication of this notification. The information should be sent to the FTA either by e-mail to amtshilfe.usa@estv.admin.ch or to the following address:

Swiss Federal Tax Administration FTA, Eigerstrasse 65, CH-3003 Bern

BBl 2020

9148

4. It is possible to participate in the simplified procedure in accordance with Art. 16 of the Federal Act of 28 September 2012 on International Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters (TAAA; SR 651.1). If the person entitled to appeal consents to the transmission of information to the IRS under the simplified procedure, that person must notify the FTA in writing. This con-sent is irrevocable. The FTA closes the procedure by transmitting the information to the IRS with reference being made to the consent of the person en-titled to appeal.

5. If a person entitled to appeal does not consent to the simplified procedure and has not notified the FTA of a Swiss address or a person in Switzerland authorised to receive service, the FTA notifies the final decree on an anonymous basis by a publication in the Federal Gazette and on its website (Art. 5 para. 3 let. b FATCA Agreement).

1 December 2020 Federal Tax Administration