Swiss upset with Italian tax amnesty plan

GENEVA, Switzerland, Oct. 23 (UPI) -- Bankers in a Swiss state bordering Italy are worried about a new Italian tax amnesty plan aimed at repatriating hidden funds, Swiss officials say.

Representatives of the Ticino Bankers Association met with the Swiss finance minister Thursday to discuss what they view as aggressive tactics by Italy that include filming people crossing the border, the Swiss information agency Swissinfo reports.

Some 70,000 Italian nationals live in the southern Swiss border state of Ticino.

Italy believes as much as $187.96 billion of undeclared assets are hidden in Ticino banks.

"The problem is not so much the amnesty itself, but the way it is being carried out, such as the way the Italian finance minister expresses himself about the Swiss financial center," said Alfredo Gysi, president of the Association of Foreign Banks in Switzerland.

Italian Finance Minister Giulio Tremonti has talked about "bleeding Lugano's banking sector dry."