Automatic exchange of information (AEOI)

What is AEOI

The Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI) is a tax standard that governs how tax authorities of participating countries exchange information related to financial accounts held by taxpayers outside their jurisdiction of tax residence (Reportable Persons). AEOI was developed and published by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) with the aim of preventing tax evasion. Given that Switzerland is a participating jurisdiction, Schroder & Co Bank AG (“SCoBAG”) is under the obligation to provide such reports on a yearly basis to the Federal Tax Administration (FTA).

Reportable person

A reportable person is a person with residence in a country which has committed to the AEOI principles and holds a financial account with a financial institution in an equally participating jurisdiction outside their country of tax residence. Information will only be shared between countries which have agreed to exchange information.

Please click here for more detailed information

The updated list of countries with which Switzerland has signed an agreement on the AEOI can be found here: Partner States

Reportable information

The following information will be reported by financial institutions and exchanged with the tax authorities in the client’s jurisdiction of tax residence.

• Identification information (e.g. name of the natural person or entity, address, country of residence for tax purposes, taxpayer identification number and date of birth)
• Account information (e.g. name of the financial institution and account number)
• Financial information (e.g. account balance, dividends, income, other income, and gross proceeds)

Consequences

From 1 January 2017, all natural persons and legal entities whose tax residence is in a country with which Switzerland has signed an AEOI agreement must declare their tax residence to SCoBAG by means of self-certification when entering into a new business relationship with the Bank or if their situation changes (e.g. change of domicile address) so that SCoBAG can document this information accordingly.

Your rights

You have the following rights under the AEOI Act and the Federal Act on Data Protection (FADP):

Vis-à-vis SCoBAG

You are entitled to the full extent of legal protection offered by the FADP vis-à-vis Schroder & Co Bank AG. In particular, you have the right to request the information gathered about you which will be reported to the FTA.

SCoBAG must provide you with a copy of its report to the FTA on request. In this regard, it must be noted that the information gathered and reported about you may differ from your tax-relevant information.

Moreover, you are also entitled to request that incorrect data in SCoBAG systems be corrected.

Vis-à-vis the Federal Tax Administration (FTA)

Your only right vis-à-vis the FTA is the right to access information. You are entitled to request that incorrect data resulting from errors in the exchange process be corrected.

If the exchange of information would result in disadvantages for you that are not permissible due to a lack of constitutional guarantees, your rights are set out in Article 25a of the Federal Act on Administrative Procedure.

You do not have the right to access FTA records. This means that you do not have the right to block the disclosure of personal details vis-à-vis the FTA. In addition, you are not entitled to have the legality of forwarding information outside Switzerland reviewed or to block any illegal forwarding and/or to demand the destruction of data processed without sufficient legal basis.