From Missed Peace Talks to Capitulation in Swiss-German Tax Dispute
In a 2012 article, former Swiss Ambassador Dr. Thomas Borer comments on the political storm surrounding a new UBS bank data CD allegedly obtained by Germany’s North Rhine-Westphalia finance minister. Whether genuine or a bluff, Borer warns, such “sleight-of-hand tricks always catch up with you”. He laments that Switzerland missed the chance for peace negotiations years ago and now faces only “capitulation talks”. The controversy threatens to derail the hard-fought Swiss-German withholding tax agreement, with Germany’s SPD declaring the deal “as good as dead”.