Links Mar 28

Switzerland: Regulator demands more tax transparency swissinfo
Mar 27 - "The Swiss financial regulator has broken ranks with the financial community by calling for a greater exchange of tax and regulatory information with other countries."

See also:
Switzerland’s Finma Sees No ‘Tragedy’ in Offshore Wealth Decline Bloomberg Businessweek
Mar 27 - "Wealth managers in Switzerland face “great challenges” that may topple the country as the world’s biggest offshore center, the Swiss financial supervisory authority said."

UBS threatens legal action over book claims swissinfo
Mar 28 - "A newly released book has raised the hackles of UBS by claiming that the bank systematically helped French clients evade taxes."

Switzerland near German, U.S. offshore account deals Reuters
Mar 28 - "Switzerland is nearing deals with Germany and the United States over hidden offshore accounts, including paying U.S. officials 5 billion Swiss francs ($5.5 billion) to settle allegations of aiding tax evasion..."

Switzerland Snubs Tax Deal With Austria Tax-News
Mar 28 - "The Swiss government has no firm plans to conclude a bilateral tax agreement with Austria to resolve the longstanding issue of undeclared bank accounts held by Austrian nationals in the Confederation’s banks despite claims to the contrary by the Austrian government."

Netherlands To Extend Tax Treaty Network In South America Tax-News
Mar 28 - "Commenting on the planned visit, Frans Weekers explained that the country’s extensive network of tax treaties makes the Netherlands a popular country for companies and foreign investors." See recent TJN blog Dutch National Bank lists the Netherlands with tax havens.

India: Drive against blackmoney, tax evasion is an ongoing process: Government Economic Times
Mar 28 - "The proposed strategy aims at systematic and conscious reshaping of the country's national integrity system. The draft Strategy recommends a set of action to be taken by the Government and a set of actions by the political entities, judiciary, media, citizens, private sector and civil society organisations."

Vodafone controversy: India not a tax haven, says Pranab DNA India
Mar 27 - "In a strong message to the critics of the retrospective amendment to the tax laws, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Tuesday asserted India is not a tax haven."

Africa: The Challenges of Curbing Illicit Financial Flows From the Continent allAfrica
Mar 27 - Analysis: "On 18 February 2012, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) established a High Level Panel to examine what it referred to as 'the debilitating problem of illicit financial outflows from Africa'." See the Communiqué here.

French judges seek E. Guinea president son's arrest Agence France Press
Mar 27 - Unfolding events on a major corruption story. See here for a recent Global Witness press release.

Son-in-law of Spanish King 'stole millions of euros of public money' The Independent
Mar 20 - "For months now, gory financial details from the case – the alleged tax dodges of more than half a million euros via a NGO for children with terminal illnesses, the apparent charging of €700,000 (£580,000) for a 13-page financial report on a football club stadium and the use of offshore companies in Belize and the UK – have found their way out of Spain's leaky judiciary system and into front-page newspaper reports."

UK: Why legal professional privilege should be extended to clients of chartered accountants Tax Journal
Mar 15 - "Developments such as the Legal Services Act have hastened the need for legal professional privilege to be extended to clients of tax advisers who are chartered accountants." Hat tip: Alex Marriage.

Five of the best tax havens in the world AOL
Mar 27 - The article observes "The super rich can avoid huge tax bills by taking up residency in a "tax haven" such as Monaco or Jersey", and takes a look at "five of their favourites."