Post by unlawflcombatnt on Sept 25, 2009 2:01:41 GMT -6
from Forbes:
Switzerland's Last Day As A Tax Haven
by Vidya Ram
09.24.09
"Switzerland will be taken off the Organization for Economic Development "grey list" of tax havens on Friday, after it signs its 12th information sharing agreement in New York on Thursday.
"It’s a big event and shows you can change the world in a few months," Pascal Saint-Amans, a spokesman for the OECD told Forbes, confirming the news of the signing at 4p EST. "6 months ago bank secrecy laws were very strict in many countries." On Wednesday, Austria joined the burgeoning list of former OECD tax havens, including the Cayman Islands to go off the list ahead of the two-day G-20 Summit in Pittsburg. A country must sign at least 12 so-called double taxation agreements - a treaty with another country setting out the ways and circumstances under which information on bank clients could be shared.
Eric Hess, deputy head of the international division of Switzerland's Federal Tax Administration was eager to stress that Switzerland was not breaking its famed secrecy laws. "Domestically banking secrecy remains untouched. For residents of Switzerland with local bank accounts nothing changes," he told Forbes.
However, it will be hard for Switzerland to shake of the impression that it has given into G-20 demands that countries give up their stringent secrecy laws to ensure that foreign citizens aren't able to hide money away from their governments....
"Swiss bank secrecy isn't what it once was," said David Williams a banking analyst at Fox Pitt Kelton. "The secrecy laws don’t mean much to the 4,450 people who will have their names handed over to the [U.S. government]."
Last month, Switzerland agreed to hand details of 4,450 people over to U.S. tax authorities as part of a settlement to a dispute between the IRS and UBS. The IRS had been demanding that the bank hand over information details on 52,000 clients.
Governments from Britain to the U.S. have been eager to address the issue as public coffers have been depleted by the billions spent on saving banks and shoring up the economy.
While the recent moves by the likes of Switzerland and Austria are important, going off the list is just the starting point, warns Saint-Amans. At the OECD's Global Forum in Mexico in early September, over 90 countries have signed a commitment to upholding standards, including by conducting regular peer reviews. Says Saint-Amans: "What matters is the actual implementation. We look forward to monitoring the actual implementation of standards.""
www.forbes.com/2009/09/24/switzerland-tax-haven-markets-equities-oecd.html
Switzerland's Last Day As A Tax Haven
by Vidya Ram
09.24.09
"Switzerland will be taken off the Organization for Economic Development "grey list" of tax havens on Friday, after it signs its 12th information sharing agreement in New York on Thursday.
"It’s a big event and shows you can change the world in a few months," Pascal Saint-Amans, a spokesman for the OECD told Forbes, confirming the news of the signing at 4p EST. "6 months ago bank secrecy laws were very strict in many countries." On Wednesday, Austria joined the burgeoning list of former OECD tax havens, including the Cayman Islands to go off the list ahead of the two-day G-20 Summit in Pittsburg. A country must sign at least 12 so-called double taxation agreements - a treaty with another country setting out the ways and circumstances under which information on bank clients could be shared.
Eric Hess, deputy head of the international division of Switzerland's Federal Tax Administration was eager to stress that Switzerland was not breaking its famed secrecy laws. "Domestically banking secrecy remains untouched. For residents of Switzerland with local bank accounts nothing changes," he told Forbes.
However, it will be hard for Switzerland to shake of the impression that it has given into G-20 demands that countries give up their stringent secrecy laws to ensure that foreign citizens aren't able to hide money away from their governments....
"Swiss bank secrecy isn't what it once was," said David Williams a banking analyst at Fox Pitt Kelton. "The secrecy laws don’t mean much to the 4,450 people who will have their names handed over to the [U.S. government]."
Last month, Switzerland agreed to hand details of 4,450 people over to U.S. tax authorities as part of a settlement to a dispute between the IRS and UBS. The IRS had been demanding that the bank hand over information details on 52,000 clients.
Governments from Britain to the U.S. have been eager to address the issue as public coffers have been depleted by the billions spent on saving banks and shoring up the economy.
While the recent moves by the likes of Switzerland and Austria are important, going off the list is just the starting point, warns Saint-Amans. At the OECD's Global Forum in Mexico in early September, over 90 countries have signed a commitment to upholding standards, including by conducting regular peer reviews. Says Saint-Amans: "What matters is the actual implementation. We look forward to monitoring the actual implementation of standards.""
www.forbes.com/2009/09/24/switzerland-tax-haven-markets-equities-oecd.html