Stock exchange limitation prompts Swiss indignation

The Swiss government has dismissed as discriminatory a decision by the European Union to grant only limited access to the stock market exchange and is reconsidering its pledge for a CHF1.3 billion ($1.32 billion) payment to the 28-nation bloc. “Switzerland fulfils the conditions for recognition of stock market equivalence every bit as much as the other third countries that have been granted indefinite recognition,” President Doris Leuthard said in a statement following an extraordinary meeting of the Federal Council on Thursday. She also announced the government had decided to bolster the competitiveness of Switzerland’s financial sector by preparing to drop the stamp duty - a tax on securities trading and insurance transactions. Leuthard said the government had strong doubts about the legality of the EU decision, adding that the linking a technical bilateral dossier with institutional issues was unacceptable. Brussels said on earlier this week it would make unlimited access to ...