Switzerland on the black list?

German Finance Minister Peer Steinbrück and his French counterpart Eric Woerth want to have Switzerland put on the black list of tax havens compiled by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The Swiss daily Corriere del Ticino writes: "Berlin accuses Switzerland of not being cooperative enough over tax matters. The conservative parties in Switzerland and the banking association ABS have vigorously rejected this accusation and have declared the application to have Switzerland put on the black list unjustified. The list also includes Monaco, Liechtenstein and Andorra. But there are critical voices at home as well - the Socialist party, for example, which has always been against tax evasion and said that the country's tax arrangements cast it in a bad light. The black list is interpreted as a warning for the conservative parties. It damages the reputation of the Swiss financial market, which has already been tarnished by the rescue manoevre of the UBS."

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