Switzerland strikes tax deal with Poland
* Deal with Poland is ninth since March
* 12 deals needed to be removed from tax haven list
ZURICH, July 1 (Reuters) - Switzerland and Poland have agreed on a new double taxation treaty, the ninth such deal Berne has struck since March as it seeks removal from an international list of tax havens.
Switzerland, whose private banks manage around $2 trillion of foreign wealth, aims to secure 12 new bilateral tax deals by the end of 2009 which could allow it to be removed from an OECD "grey list" of states which need to improve tax cooperation.
The Swiss finance ministry said in a statement details of the Polish deal were confidential until it had been signed by the government after consultation with the Swiss cantons and business associations.
Switzerland has also signed deals with Denmark, Luxembourg, Norway, France, Mexico, the United States, Japan and the Netherlands in recent weeks.
Fearing sanctions from the G20, Switzerland and other tax havens agreed in March to relax prized bank secrecy and accepted for the first time to share certain bank client data with other jurisdictions once bilateral tax treaties are ratified. (Reporting by Emma Thomasson; Editing by Victoria Main)
