Swiss National Council approves U.S. anti-tax evasion deal 9 (Xinhua) -- The Swiss National Council Monday approved the United States Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), requiring Swiss banks to report the holdings of their U.S. clients to U.S. tax authorities. Lawmakers in the lower house of the parliament voted 112 in favour, 51 against and 21 abstentions. The deal, which has already been approved by the the upper house, or Council of States but still needs to go back there for a final approval, will take effect next July, according to the Swiss national news agency ATS. By complying with the law, which only addresses current and future accounts held by Americans, Switzerland expects to settle the long-running tax-evasion dispute between Swiss banks and the U.S..