HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is to link up with German
tax authorities to access Swiss
bank accounts.
The country's banking system has long been thought of as a haven for hidden cash and tens of thousands of British people are thought to have a Swiss account, reported the Sunday Times.
A new tax treaty between Germany and Switzerland allows "mutual assistance" and includes the procurement of documents as evidence in cases punishable by imprisonment.
The UK is using its EU partnership with Germany to access the documents and will have to supply allegations to obtain information.
An un-named senior official at HMRC was quoted by the newspaper as saying: "'Our reading of the law is quite clear. Germany has the agreement with the Swiss, and we have an agreement with the Germans.
"Until now we have not had the opportunity to get at the Swiss assets of British tax dodgers."
HMRC was in the media headlines in late 2007 after it lost two discs containing more than 25 million child benefit records in the post.
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