Washington DC, USA (GenevaLunch) – Swiss negotiators from the  Federal Department of Finance met their US counterparts in Washington Tuesday 16 June to hammer out a new double-taxation treaty between the two countries. Time is of the essence: Switzerland wants to get off the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD) gray list of non-compliant states, and both sides need to find a way around the US tax authority’s (IRS) demand for the names of 52,000 US clients of UBS bank. The case is currently being tried in a Miami, Florida courtroom. Switzerland would like the US to drop its charges against UBS, reports Le Temps.

The Swiss government reminded the court last month that giving in to the IRS’s demands would be a violation of Swiss sovereignty. The Florida judge in the UBS trial gave the US government until 30 June to decide whether to proceed with the charges as they stand, or to modify them. The trial continues 13 July, says NZZ (Ger).

Related: TSR

Background: “Switzerland asks US to stop IRS request for UBS names“, 1 May 2009, GenevaLunch

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