Eind bankgeheim in zicht (en)
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - The days of banking secrecy within the European Union appear to be numbered despite resistance from Luxembourg and Austria to the automatic sharing of banking information with other member state tax authorities.
The two states, along with Belgium, currently operate a temporary opt-out scheme from EU rules in the area that require the automatic sharing of data, applying instead a special withholding tax on the savings accounts of non-residents.
"But it is a transitional arrangement and the deadline is the day when the five other European countries which are not members of the European Union – namely Switzerland, Leichtenstein, San Marino, Monaco and Andorra – agree on the exchange of information on request," explained EU taxation commissioner Laszlo Kovacs on Tuesday (28 April).
This deadline is outlined in the Savings Taxation Directive and it appears to be approaching rapidly. On 5 May Mr Kovacs will ask a meeting of finance ministers in Brussels for a mandate to start talks with the five countries.
He also feels certain that the finance ministers will give him the authority he needs to start the negotiations.
"We will request this mandate and I am 100 percent sure that the council [of finance ministers] will give me this mandate," he said.
Belgium has already agreed to implement the automatic provision of non-resident bank accounts to other member state tax authorities from 1 Jan 2010.
At the same meeting, Mr Kovacs will also present a new commission communication on taxation that calls for increased transparency and exchange of tax information, both within the EU and with third countries.
The document – published on Tuesday - is the commission's response to calls by G20 i leaders on 2 April "to take action against non-cooperative jurisdiction, including tax havens."
OECD list a moving feast
Stricter enforcement of automatic sharing of banking information within the EU is part of a greater global crackdown on tax dodging as recession-time governments feel the pinch from lower tax returns.
"Tax secrecy cannot be used as a pretext against giving information on request which can be used for protecting tax fraudsters, tax evasion or even money laundering," said Mr Kovacs on Tuesday.
Earlier this month, while G20 leaders discussed the financial crisis in London, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development published a progress report for states on implementation of internationally agreed taxation standards.
To their dismay, Austria, Belgium and Luxembourg were placed in the list's 'grey' section, signifying they have committed to, but not yet implemented, the internationally agreed taxation standards.
"I think that the treatment given to some countries is a bit incomprehensible," Luxembourg prime minister Jean-Claude Juncker told journalists as he arrived to chair a meeting of euro area finance ministers in Prague the next day.
But Mr Kovacs pointed out that the list is "not the final state of play", adding that the commission and the OECD will be monitoring the implementation of taxation standards over the coming months before the list is revisited later this year.
European Commission