Brussels, 23/11/2012 (Agence Europe) - On Friday 23 November, under pressure from opposition parties SPD and die Grünen, the upper house of the German parliament, the Bundesrat, rejected the Rubik-type double taxation deal signed in August 2011 between the German government and the Swiss government (see EUROPE 10450), which was supposed to come into force (after ratification) in January 2013. The agreement introduced taxation at source of between 21% and 41% on savings deposited in Swiss banks by German nationals, with Switzerland keeping the names of the account holders secret. Under the deal, the German government would give up its attempts to buy stolen details of German nationals suspected of tax fraud, information that would have netted the German tax office some €10 billion. The SPD and die Grünen say the deal is too lenient for fraudsters. The two parties made it clear a long time ago that they would be voting against it. (FG/transl.fl)