Brussels, 26/02/2008 (Agence Europe) - In a referendum on Sunday 24 February, the people of Switzerland approved, by a very small margin (50.5% for), the government's proposal for tax reform in order to keep the country economically attractive. “The reform will be carried out completely independently, therefore not negotiated with Brussels. But it could be a way out of the dispute with the EU over tax differences between three kinds of corporations,” said Hans-Rudolf Merz, Federal Advisor to the Finance Department, in an interview with the daily Le Temps. Asked if he was trying to kill two birds with one stone, i.e. adopting tax reform which also resolves the tax dispute that is spoiling EU-Swiss relations, he added: “That is exactly what I want to do”. The EU considers that tax rules applied by Swiss cantons to some companies (such as mixed investment and holding companies), established in Switzerland but active in the EU, constitute state aid under the terms of the EU-Switzerland free trade agreement of 1972 (see EUROPE 9485 and 9427). Switzerland claims sovereignty in fiscal matters and rejects any EU right of scrutiny over its tax policy. (M.B.)