From Reuters.com:
A looming court case against Swiss bank UBS AG could prove a stumbling block to the United States and Switzerland clinching a tax agreement this week.
Switzerland, whose private banks manage around $2 trillion of foreign wealth, aims to secure 12 new bilateral tax deals by the end of 2009 which could allow it to be removed from an OECD "grey list" of states which need to improve tax cooperation and avoid possible sanctions from G20 nations.
It has already secured five agreements, with Denmark, Norway, France, Mexico and one other unnamed country, and plans to put the issue to a referendum. Talks between Swiss and U.S. officials restart in Washington on Tuesday.
Swiss President Hans-Rudolf Merz has asked U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner to drop a tax evasion case against UBS in return for a new tax accord, which might struggle for ratification in Switzerland if the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) persists with its pursuit of the bank.
"We believe there has to be some kind of agreement before July 13 when the IRS and UBS are due to take part in a mini-trial," said analyst Teresa Nielsen at Vontobel, adding this could even come in an 11th hour deal on July 12.
