The Swiss have a special relationship with taxes. In reality, the Confederation of Swiss cantons was created in 1291 as a result of the refusal to pay the exorbitant taxes demanded by the Emperor of Habsburg. The origins of the English parliament and American Independence also lie to some extent in the British authorities' greed for taxes.

Another original feature is that in Switzerland, taxes are voted by the people. This means that the federal and cantonal governments do not hold the same inordinate powers as other States have vested themselves with regard to taxes. The Swiss feel that it is up to the taxpayer to assume his or her responsibilities: the system is founded on the declaratory principle of the taxpayer.

This system is not as strange as it may seem, since Interpol (International Criminal Police Organization) treats cases in the same way and intervenes only in those that involve fraud.

Moreover, the principle of legal equality reinforces the Swiss position. A law cannot be less favorable to a foreigner than it is to a national, unless expressly mentioned otherwise. No tax authority in any canton has the right to demand information from a bank in Switzerland, so how could it be accepted that the French tax authorities, for example, expect to obtain information from a Swiss bank?

Other pages of interest:

International cooperation procedures regarding tax evasion Swiss bank secrecy and tax evasion