U.S. Tax Authorities to Access Secret Swiss Accounts

Under an agreement signed Wednesday between the U.S. and Switzerland, secret Swiss bank accounts may be a thing of the past. According to the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the agreement will "reduce the amount of taxes lost through unintended loopholes and the illegal use of hidden accounts by well-off individuals." The agreement -- signed by Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner and Swiss Ambassador Urs Ziswiler -- "revises the existing U.S.-Switzerland income tax treaty to allow for the exchange of information for income tax purposes to the full extent permitted by Article 26 of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Model Income Tax Convention," according to a Treasury release.