Hungary: Hungary may negotiate a Rubik agreement with Switzerland

International Tax Review is part of Legal Benchmarking Limited, 1-2 Paris Garden, London, SE1 8ND

Copyright © Legal Benchmarking Limited and its affiliated companies 2025

Accessibility | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Modern Slavery Statement

Hungary: Hungary may negotiate a Rubik agreement with Switzerland

balazs.jpg

Balázs Békés

The Hungarian government recently announced that it wishes to start talks with Switzerland and obtain data on Hungarian individuals' Swiss bank accounts. The government wants to impose a 35% withholding tax on Hungarian funds held with Swiss banks. As a new trend, Austria, UK and Germany have already negotiated on specific "Rubik agreements" with Switzerland, addressing information exchange and taxation of undisclosed funds. According to such treaties, bank account holders are free to choose one of the following options: Firstly, they may grant an authorisation to the bank to deliver the information; secondly, they may maintain their anonymity but, in this case, they must pay a flat tax withheld at source; thirdly, they may decide to withdraw from Switzerland and close their bank accounts.

The information disclosed by the Hungarian government gives a signal that Hungary may want to enter into a similar treaty with Switzerland. Calculating with an effective tax rate of 39% for private individuals' income from undisclosed sources under Hungarian domestic law, the proposed 35% tax rate may be realistic.

Hungary also aims at renegotiating its double taxation treaties signed with other states – about 70 -, and extending the sections on information exchange according to the new OECD model. The Hungary-Switzerland double tax treaty still has the old text, having a very limited scope.

Balázs Békés (balazs.bekes@wolftheiss.com)

Faludi Wolf Theiss Attorneys at Law

Tel: +36 1 4848 800

Fax: +36 1 4848 825

Web: www.wolftheiss.com

more across site & shared bottom lb ros

More from across our site

The EU defended its ‘sovereign right’ to impose the tax in the face of US tariff threats; in other news, the US deputy Treasury secretary resigned after just five months
Ascoria’s chief revenue officer shares her career wisdom garnered from the disparate worlds of tax technology, electric cables, radio DJing and more
Businesses no longer have a choice when it comes to tax technology transformation. Pavlo Boyko of TMF Group says the question is simply: sink or swim?
The firm is hunting for a senior TP manager in its quest to build a full-service practice in Indonesia, A&M Tax’s Jakarta head Jaap Zwaan tells ITR
With a new government in place, the evolving tax landscape presents both opportunities and challenges for taxpayers
Major economies have expressed concerns, with China arguing a US global minimum tax exemption would be a violation of the principle of fair competition – ITR understands
Senator Richard Colbeck told ITR he was concerned by the decision to let PwC Australia tender for government contracts again after a scandal-induced ban
Whether it be due to a fragmented advisory market or a rise in M&A, Italy’s frenetic hiring has not gone unnoticed by ITR’s Talent Tracker
The deal gives Azets 14 new partners and boosts its Swedish revenues to over $100 million; in other news, Svalner Atlas launched in Copenhagen
The tax technology company will be providing a free demonstration of its OTP software and offering best practice advice on whether to ‘buy or build’ on September 8
Gift this article