Conformité fiscale : obligations et responsabilité du client envers la banque

The responsibility of Swiss banks and other financial intermediaries in respect of their clients’ and client ­assets’ tax status have undergone a paradigmatic change. Banks need to manage their tax and criminal risks ­related to their clients. FATCA, the OECD’s Common Reporting Standard (CRS), and the implementing Swiss legislation impose strict duties on banks (and ­almost none on their clients) to obtain all the information required for the automatic exchange of information for tax matters.

This article explores the obligations and liability of clients to their banks in collecting the relevant information. It finds that a client’s duty to ­declare and pay taxes in relation to her financial assets has no third party effect in favour of the bank. A client is not liable to her bank for the failure to disclose her financial assets and pay taxes in her country of residence. Furthermore, as the law now stands, the client does not have a duty to spontaneously reveal her tax status…