Federal Council adopts dispatch on double taxation agreement with Albania

Bern, 11.11.2015 - Today, the Federal Council adopted the dispatch on the revision of the double taxation agreement (DTA) with Albania and submitted it to Parliament for approval.

On 9 September 2015 in Tirana, Switzerland and Albania signed a protocol of amendment to the DTA in the area of taxes on income and capital. Aside from the new provision on the exchange of information in tax matters, it was possible to align other points in the agreement with Switzerland's current agreements policy. The inclusion of an arbitration clause, in particular, ensures the avoidance of double taxation. In the case of royalty payments, an evolutionary clause makes provision for any more advantageous agreements concluded in the future with a member state of the European Union (EU) or of the European Economic Area (EEA) also being applicable to Switzerland. Finally, an anti-abuse clause will prevent the advantages of the agreement from being used by people who are not entitled to them.

The cantons and business associations concerned welcomed the agreement. Switzerland has concluded a total of 53 double taxation agreements that are in line with the international standard with regard to the exchange of information; 41 of these are in force.

Address for enquiries

Bilateral Tax Issues and Double Taxation Treaties Section, State Secretariat for International Financial Matters SIF
Tel. +41 58 462 71 29, dba@sif.admin.ch