ROME, June 1 (Reuters) - Switzerland and Italy aim to strike a new bilateral tax deal to end a dispute over Italian assets stashed in secret Swiss accounts, the Swiss president said on Wednesday.
Micheline Calmy-Rey, who also is foreign minister in the multi-party Alpine cabinet, said after talks with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi that Switzerland was ready to discuss the question of a new double taxation deal.
'A revision of our existing agreement is necessary,' she said at a news conference in Rome.
Berlusconi later said in a statement that both countries want to find a solution through direct talks.
After a global campaign against tax havens, Switzerland agreed in 2009 to soften its strict bank secrecy, pledging to comply with standards set by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.
Switzerland, the world's biggest offshore banking centre, had to sign 12 bilateral tax deals to be removed from an OECD 'grey list' of tax havens after threats of sanctions by the Group of 20 most powerful countries.
Switzerland has agreed to tax deals according to OECD standards with both Great Britain and Germany, both of whom have been trying to crack down on citizens hiding money in Alpine accounts.
The Swiss canton (state) of Ticino, just across the border from Italy, has served as an easy place for Italians to stash their money, and its banking association has put its members' assets at $390 billion.
But a bid by the cash-strapped Italian government to crack down on tax evaders, including searches of Italians entering Switzerland, has hurt relations and lessened the attraction of Swiss accounts, as has an amnesty to attract assets home.
Micheline Calmy-Rey, who also is foreign minister in the multi-party Alpine cabinet, said after talks with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi that Switzerland was ready to discuss the question of a new double taxation deal.
'A revision of our existing agreement is necessary,' she said at a news conference in Rome.
Berlusconi later said in a statement that both countries want to find a solution through direct talks.
After a global campaign against tax havens, Switzerland agreed in 2009 to soften its strict bank secrecy, pledging to comply with standards set by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.
Switzerland, the world's biggest offshore banking centre, had to sign 12 bilateral tax deals to be removed from an OECD 'grey list' of tax havens after threats of sanctions by the Group of 20 most powerful countries.
Switzerland has agreed to tax deals according to OECD standards with both Great Britain and Germany, both of whom have been trying to crack down on citizens hiding money in Alpine accounts.
The Swiss canton (state) of Ticino, just across the border from Italy, has served as an easy place for Italians to stash their money, and its banking association has put its members' assets at $390 billion.
But a bid by the cash-strapped Italian government to crack down on tax evaders, including searches of Italians entering Switzerland, has hurt relations and lessened the attraction of Swiss accounts, as has an amnesty to attract assets home.
