Swiss parliament refuses to debate bill preventing disclosure of accounts
to US interests.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/06/18/swiss-usa-tax-idUSL5N0EU1CH20130618
<snip>
Lower house votes against debate
* Government warns of pending U.S. indictments
* More than a dozen banks under investigation
* Bill referred back to upper house for debate, vote
By Katharina Bart
ZURICH, June 18 (Reuters) - Switzerland's lower house of parliament has stalled the government's bid to protect the country's banks from criminal charges in the United States for helping wealthy Americans to evade tax.
The lawmakers refused to address a bill aimed at allowing banks to sidestep strict Swiss secrecy laws by disclosing their U.S. dealings with prosecutors, helping them to strike deals expected to include fines that could cost the industry as much as $10 billion.
Banks will not be allowed to hand over client names, but the proposal would give them a one-year window to hand over information including names of third parties such as accountants and tax lawyers, which should be sufficient for U.S. officials to identify tax dodgers.
The lower house voted by a large majority not to discuss the legislation,
