Now the Swiss will fight it out over the next months and years no doubt on the political battlefield. The only way that this really goes against the Swiss currently is if the blacklist is applied, but the Swiss government will probably do what is necessary to ensure as much as possible that it is not. In fact, it looks as if the next step the Swiss are mulling is to further differentiate the Swiss model from others. The article itself states, the following: The ASB said however that in renegotiating taxation agreements with nations such as Britain and the United States, Switzerland should demand action in return on certain territories of these countries which it views as tax havens.

Switzerland will keep defending its strict banking secrecy after making some concessions but expects more pressure from a global crackdown on tax havens due to the economic crisis, a minister said on Thursday.

Swiss Economy Minister Doris Leuthard made the comments in a speech in Zurich as the G20 summit in London announced it wanted to fight tax havens that did not share information.

The Philippines was among four nations blacklisted as uncooperative tax havens yesterday after Group of 20 leaders declared the age of banking secrecy was over and said they would no longer tolerate shady havens draining away badly needed tax revenue.

At the request of the G20 summit of rich and developing nations, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) named the Philippines, Uruguay, Costa Rica and the Malaysian territory of Labuan as the worst offenders, saying they had refused to adopt new rules on financial openness.

Leaders had agreed to name and shame the countries that refuse to exchange tax information, which could result in tough sanctions – including the withdrawal of financing by the World Bank or International Monetary Fund.

“The time of banking secrecy has passed,” French President Nicholas Sarkozy said following the summit. “Everyone around the table wants an end to tax havens. Everyone knows we need sanctions.”

The announcement reflects mounting concern that banking secrecy in tax havens has helped to worsen the economic crisis by disguising the true value of some global assets. Anti-poverty activists say such places provide corrupt officials places to stash illicit funds, often depriving poor nations of needed resources.

The OECD has divided countries into three categories: those who comply with rules on sharing tax information, those who say they will but have yet to act and nations which have not yet agreed to change banking secrecy practices.

Switzerland and Liechtenstein, which both have strong banking secrecy traditions, said last month they would adopt international rules on tax cooperation and were ready to comply with G20 demands.