Italy Introduces OVDP

Italy and Switzerland came to an agreement on February 23rd, 2015 which effectively resolved the dispute on how to treat Italian citizens’ undeclared funds in Swiss bank accounts. Since the countries are in such close proximity, this resolution will hopefully bring both countries back into the fold of fruitful coexistence. For Italian citizens, the Italian government is creating a program similar to the United States’ OVDP by setting up their own Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program. The Swiss have agreed under BEPS-OECD to exchange information from the Swiss banks to the Italian government. This will effectively set up a matching function similar to the IRS’s matching programs. To those Italian citizens with undeclared Swiss accounts, now is the time to come into compliance with Italian government.