Most readers will know about Liechtenstein foundations. This article is not about them, albeit these two countries and their financial service offering are often confused, even by international experts. It is widely believed by the Swiss foundation community that the intention of the OSCE to include beneficiaries of
Swiss charitable foundations into the Automatic Information Exchange has to do with this misunderstanding. However, thanks to the intervention of Swiss Foundations, an industry association, and the Swiss Government, this misunderstanding is now cleared and no information exchange will take place.
Imagine, if you sit on the board of a foundation that supports humanitarian causes in certain countries where the rule of law is not as established, and the names of perceived adversaries to the existing governments – who got your donations – get exchanged. Soon, your foundation will have no more beneficiaries to support.
The Swiss Foundation – Where do we stand today?
Ariel Davidoff
