Italy and Switzerland sign deal to share information on tax evasion.

The deal offers a partial tax amnesty to Italians that have hidden cash in Switzerland. They will have until 30 September to declare their Swiss bank accounts through a "voluntary disclosure procedure." In return, they will be given more lenient fines and most criminal charges will be dropped. Around 70% of the cash that Italians have hidden abroad is in Switzerland, reportedly costing Italy €90 billion ($100bn) a year. The deal comes as bank secrecy and tax evasion takes center stage in Europe. HSBC has been accused of helping people evade UK tax using hidden HSBC accounts in Geneva. Greater financial disclosure measures are likely to be introduced in Europe. Switzer-land has agreed to sign a multilateral agreement to share tax information with other governments by 2018.