Swiss-UK/Germany deals: lawyers recommend trusts

Hot on our story about the weaknesses of the Swiss-UK agreement, a legal source draws our attention to this article in The Lawyer, which confirms our suspicions that lawyers stand to gain huge fees from clients restructuring to take advantage of the various loopholes: "Like many other areas that have a negative impact on some, the treaties look set to provide lawyers with work for at least the next year."

And for those who claim we exaggerate the potential for tax criminals to use trusts and foundations, here's Vincent Jeanneret, managing partner of Schellenberg Wittmer suggesting that clients look to trusts and similar hybrid structures as the means of carrying on with business as usual: “We believe it’s quite good for the top end of the market,” he says. “In the long run it may have an impact if the Swiss banks are no longer as powerful as they used to be.”