In a move towards more tax transparency between jurisdictions, Switzerland has signed a protocol to accompany its tax information exchange agreement with the US. Switzerland has come under scrutiny for its tax system in recent months, most notably for its banking secrecy rules, which have been compromised by the demand for Swiss bank UBS to reveal the names of its US clients to authorities. Governments worldwide have been lobbying for offshore account holders to 'come clean' about their accounts, and this agreement is the 11th tax exchange agreement signed by Switzerland so far that brings it in line with the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development's standard. It now has agreements with major OECD member countries including France, the UK and the US. Angel Gurrea, the OECD's secretary general, said: 'This is a very meaningful development and it shows that OECD countries are prepared to step up to the mark. Our congratulations to the Swiss authorities. Signing agreements is only one step in a process. What we will now be looking for is effective implementation by all countries.' Switzerland is now in a category of countries that have 'substantially implemented the standard' set out by the OECD on 2 April, alongside jurisdictions including Aruba, Austria, Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Luxembourg and Monaco.