No more secrets: Switzerland signs accord Italy hopes will thwart cross-border tax evasion

ROME – Italy and Switzerland have signed an accord ending Swiss banking secrecy.

The neighboring countries, in the agreement signed in Milan on Monday, pledged to exchange information for tax purposes in line with international standards.

Italy hopes the arrangement will help it fight tax evasion. Under a recent law, Italians with Swiss bank accounts can voluntarily disclose them, pay the tax due and incur milder sanctions if they do so within September 2015.

Italy's finance ministry said that with the new accord, Italian authorities can immediately try to "pinpoint potential Italian tax evaders who keep wealth in Swiss territory."

Premier Matteo Renzi says the accord means "billions of euros" will return to Italy in tax revenues.

Both sides also pledged to revise rules on how cross-border workers will pay income tax.