Many people who have lived in Switzerland for years are under the impression that their savings here are their own business and nobody else’s south of the Alps. And to a large extent, that is true. But there is one detail that has been worth bearing in mind since 2018: Spain and Switzerland automatically exchange banking information every year, without anyone requesting it and without you receiving any notification.
It is called the Common Reporting Standard (CRS). Here’s how it works: your Swiss bank reports the balances of your accounts and investments to the Swiss tax authorities. Switzerland then passes this information on to the Spanish Tax Agency. Every year. For all account holders who are citizens or tax residents of Spain.
If you’ve been living here for years, paying your taxes in Switzerland and no longer have any tax obligations in Spain, this exchange of information won’t change anything for you. The tax authorities receive the data and file it away. But if you have a flat rented out in Spain and you don’t declare that income there, or if someone convinced you that in Switzerland the money ‘can’t be seen from Spain’, they have been gathering data for several years that proves otherwise.
There’s no need to panic. It’s worth knowing that this option exists, and if there are any grey areas in your situation, consulting a tax advisor is always cheaper than the consequences that might follow. Many people realise this far too late.