Swiss authorities on Biden ‘tax haven’ comments: ‘Inappropriate’ and ‘out of date’

Swiss authorities pushed back on President Biden’s comments about Switzerland being a “tax haven” for corporations, calling his words “inappropriate” and “out of date.”

Isabelle Roesch, a spokesperson for Switzerland’s Federal Department of Finances, told The Associated Press in an email that “Switzerland considers this highlighting of Switzerland as a tax haven by the USA as inappropriate and completely out of date.”

“Switzerland meets all international standards in tax matters,” Roesch continued.

During his address to a joint session of Congress on Wednesday, Biden argued that corporations need to pay their fare share in taxes.

He said that companies have evaded taxes through “tax havens” like Switzerland and the Cayman Islands.

“A lot of companies also evade taxes through tax havens in Switzerland and Bermuda and the Cayman Islands. And they benefit from tax loopholes and deductions for offshoring jobs and shifting profits overseas. It’s not right,” Biden said.

“We’re going to reform corporate taxes so they pay their fair share and help pay for the public investments their businesses will benefit from as well,” he continued.

The president has proposed several corporate tax changes to fund his robust infrastructure and family proposals, including raising the corporate tax rate from 21 percent to 28 percent.

Earlier this month, the Treasury Department estimated that the proposed tax increases would raise about $2.5 trillion over 15 years.

Switzerland has been trying to rehab its reputation as a place for tax dodgers to avoid other fiscal authorities, but has run into trouble doing so, according to the AP.

Roesch emphasized that “international” bodies have affirmed since 2019 that the nation fulfills all international tax standards, noting that tax reform last year did away with “all tax models” that the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development criticized.

“The OECD has confirmed this in writing to Switzerland in 2020,” Roesch continued. “We reported this to the U.S. Treasury last week, as this is not the first time the new administration has made these statements.”