Canada – Switzerland Bank Information Exchange

The Swiss Consulate in Canada has been writing to Swiss residents of Canada to advise them of the information exchange agreement between Canada and Switzerland. Pursuant to this agreement the Canada Revenue Agency will receive information about Canadian residents with Swiss bank accounts. The Swiss Consulate has been advising those Canadian residents to deal with any possible tax issues. The CRA runs a program called voluntary disclosure (VDP or tax amnesty) that allows Canadian residents with unreported offshore income or unreported foreign assets to voluntarily file tax returns before any tax audit or tax investigation is commenced. The voluntary disclosure will mean no tax evasion prosecution or civil tax penalties.