Rejection of Access to Information from the Federal Tax Administration on the Scope of International Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters

Facts

The parliamentary correspondent A. requested the Federal Tax Administration (FTA) to provide access to the list of the number of administrative assistance requests in tax matters, broken down by the requesting states. The FTA rejected the access, as publication could impair the foreign policy interests or international relations of Switzerland. A. then filed a complaint with the Federal Administrative Court, which was dismissed. A. appealed against this judgment to the Federal Supreme Court.

Considerations

The Federal Supreme Court notes that the Freedom of Information Act generally provides for a subjective right of access to official documents, but this can be restricted under certain conditions. The relationship between the principle of transparency and special confidentiality rules must be weighed in each individual case.

With regard to the exception under Art. 7 para. 1 lit. d of the Freedom of Information Act, according to which access may be refused if the foreign policy interests or international relations of Switzerland could be impaired, the Federal Supreme Court grants the executive authorities a…