Exchange of tax information under CRS

Exchange of tax information between countries has ceased to be an isolated practice or a reaction to specific requests. Today it is a stable international infrastructure within which tax authorities interact on an ongoing basis.

A key role in shaping this system is played by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes. It is within these institutions that unified international standards have been developed which define the rules for collecting, transmitting and using tax information.

What is automatic exchange of tax information
The basic element of international exchange is the Common Reporting Standard (CRS) — the standard for automatic exchange of financial information.
Its logic is simple:
financial institutions (banks, investment companies, financial services) collect information on the accounts and financial activity of persons who are tax residents of other states. This information is then transmitted to the tax authority of the country where the financial institution is located, and from there — automatically to the tax authority of the country of the person’s tax residence.

It is important to understand:
this is not a manual process and not an individual decision of a particular tax officer. It is a standardised, regular and technically automated exchange in which more than one hundred jurisdictions participate today.

Practice of individual countries: how it works in reality
So that automatic exchange is not perceived as abstract theory, it is worth looking at the practice of countries where this system has long been part of financial reality.

United Kingdom
In the United Kingdom, the CRS standard has been in effect for several years. Financial institutions regularly transmit information on non‑residents’ accounts and investments within the framework of international automatic exchange. In law‑enforcement practice, this means that tax authorities of other countries receive structured data on the income and financial activity of their residents abroad.

Switzerland
Switzerland has undergone a significant transformation — from the traditional model of banking secrecy to full participation in the international tax transparency system. Transmission of information on non‑residents’ accounts within the automatic exchange framework is now standard practice and part of the country’s international obligations.

Australia
Australia uses CRS as a tool for forming a complete tax picture of individuals who have international financial activities. Data obtained through automatic exchange are integrated into the analytical systems of the Australian Taxation Office and are used for comprehensive tax analysis.

In all these countries, automatic exchange is neither an experiment nor a temporary initiative. It is a stable systemic practice that expands every year.

A new level of transparency: what is changing today
Modern exchange of tax information is no longer limited to bank accounts only. The system is gradually covering a broader range of financial instruments, including investment structures and crypto‑assets.

This means a transition to a fundamentally new level of transparency, where tax authorities receive not fragmented data but a holistic picture of a person’s international financial activity. It is not about control for the sake of control, but about changing the logic of how the global financial system functions, where transparency becomes a basic standard.

Conclusion
Today, exchange of tax information between countries is neither a one‑day news item nor a short‑term trend. It is a long‑term process that shapes new rules of the game for businesses, investors and individuals with international assets.

In this reality, the key value lies not in reacting to events, but in understanding the mechanisms and directions of development of the international tax system.

🔹 If you have accounts abroad, foreign companies, crypto‑assets or international investments, the question is no longer whether tax information exchange works, but rather what your financial structure looks like from the perspective of this system.
This is exactly where a professional legal conversation begins — calm, strategic and proactive.

Author: Ihor Yasko, Managing Partner of JSC “Winner Law Firm”, PhD in Law.