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European Organizations Agree on Tax Data Sharing Plan
By Brian Monroe
printThe Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and the Council of Europe agreed Tuesday to an updated tax data sharing agreement signed by 14 countries, including the United States. The proposed amendment, which is expected to be ratified in late May, clarifies that bank secrecy laws and domestic tax interests should not impinge on international data sharing agreements. The proposal would amend a 1988 convention that roughly a quarter of the 54 countries belonging to both organizations have signed. The amendment would lift certain provisions restricting information exchanges and allow participation by countries that are not members of the two...
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An expected pitch Friday by Switzerland's executive branch to clear the way for banks to share data with the United States is likely to face stiff domestic challenges, say Swiss attorneys.
A plan to require member-states of the European Union to automatically exchange tax-related data in an effort to boost government revenues is likely to face political and logistical challenges.
The indictment of a now-defunct Swiss financial institution and threatened charges against the country's largest publicly-owned bank fueled Switzerland's decision last month to seek a broad data-sharing agreement with American officials.
Two of the world's most influential intergovernmental groups will more heavily weigh each other's anti-money laundering and anti-tax crime standards in future evaluations, a former official said.
An influential international anti-money laundering group may request that its members pass legislation tying tax evasion to money laundering as part of an effort to to pierce Swiss bank secrecy.
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