Swiss reject US tax deal

SWITZERLAND’S effort to end a tax-evasion dispute with Washington hit a major setback yesterday when lawmakers blocked a treaty that would have seen the largest Swiss bank give US authorities files on thousands of American clients.

The Swiss and US governments crafted the treaty last August to resolve a long-standing dispute over UBS’s alleged role in aiding tax evasion, but the Swiss lower house, the National Council, voted it down.

The bill will now be passed back to the upper house for further debate.