International tax affairs – FATCA/AEOI

Various internationally applicable standards and agreements aim to ensure that asset values, for example including those from life insurance companies or fund investments, are taxed correctly for taxpayers in their relevant tax domicile. This serves to prevent cross-border tax evasion. Helvetia welcomes such measures and implements these standards within the framework of the Swiss legislation created for that purpose.

Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA)

Since June of 2014, Switzerland and the USA have had an agreement on the so-called «Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act» (FATCA), part of American tax law. It demands that foreign financial institutions pass on information about accounts held by US taxpayers to the American tax authorities.

This has a direct impact on Helvetia, which is no longer concluding contracts with so-called «U.S. persons» in accordance with FATCA. Existing clients who have the status of «U.S. person» are reported to the American tax authorities on an annual basis in compliance with the Swiss FATCA implementation law.

Helvetia Switzerland is registered as a financial company with the American tax authority (Internal Revenue Service). As part of the registration, which is required by law, Helvetia Switzerland was given the following Global Intermediary Identification Numbers (GIIN):

Helvetia Swiss Life Insurance Company Ltd 57DCP6.00002.ME.756
Helvetia Swiss Insurance Company Ltd 57DCP6.00000.LE.756

Further information on FATCA

Automatic exchange of information (AEOI)

Similarly crucial for Switzerland is the global standard on the international automatic exchange of information regarding tax affairs (AEOI), set up by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Alongside Switzerland, almost 100 states have committed to adopting and implementing this standard. The Swiss federal act on international automatic exchange of information in tax matters (AIAG) came into force on 1 January 2017.

From mid-2018, Helvetia must report all clients covered by the AIAG to the Swiss Federal Tax Administration (FTA) annually, along with their corresponding asset values and the resulting incomes. The FTA then passes this data on to the relevant foreign tax authorities of states that have concluded corresponding agreements with Switzerland in accordance with the AIAG.

Further details of automatic exchange of information and the current list of countries