Schaeuble was quoted by German tabloid Bild am Sonntag as saying that Switzerland would not be able to retroactively change laws to lift tax secrecy, one of the reasons for Germany’s opposition to bloc the deal last year.
"As a state under the rule of law, Switzerland cannot retroactively change laws or get rid of tax secrecy. That’s the question due to which red-green (opposition) let the agreement fail in the Bundesrat and I don’t see the position of the opposition changing," the tabloid quoted Schaeuble as saying.
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The response follows Switzerland’s announcement about its willingness to hold talks with Germany on a new withholding tax agreement.
During an official working visit to Bern, Germany’s Foreign Affairs Minister Guido Westerwelle held economic talks with his Swiss counterpart Didier Burkhalter. During the course of the meeting, Federal Councillor Burkhalter underlined Switzerland’s continued commitment to negotiating a bilateral tax deal with Germany.
Burkhalter made clear that the Confederation would be prepared to look closely at the German Parliament’s decision to reject the original tax accord.
The German-Swiss deal, agreed last year but blocked by the opposition in Germany’s upper house, has become a hot topic of debate again in Berlin with five months to federal elections after comments by both countries’ foreign ministers.
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