US authorities could be willing to make a deal in a legal case against Switzerland's biggest bank, UBS, after the countries agreed a double taxation treaty last week, the Swiss president said on Sunday. The US government is suing UBS, the world's largest wealth manager in terms of assets, to retrieve thousands of names of American clients who allegedly stashed money in secret accounts in contravention of US tax laws.
"We agreed the double taxation treaty without compromises and there are background activities in the UBS case," Hans-Rudolf Merz was quoted as saying in Swiss paper SonntagsZeitung.
The new double taxation treaty was a key step towards Switzerland's removal from a list of tax havens. Merz reiterated that the Swiss government could have trouble getting new tax agreements ratified in a possible referendum without the US giving ground on the UBS case. "UBS also has to make its contribution and the USA will move," Merz said.