That's the spirit: Luxembourg blocks EU tax evasion law

European Union finance ministers failed once again on Tuesday to agree on a sweeping new policy to fight tax evasion because of resistance from Luxembourg, a tiny country that long has prospered from a secretive banking culture.

EU Taxation Commissioner Algirdas Semeta said their failure was disappointing because, if approved, the legislation proposing an EU-wide automatic exchange of data on bank deposits would allow governments to “identify and chase up tax evaders.”

Luxembourg was able to shelve the legislation for the 28-nation bloc because the decision required unanimous approval at Tuesday’s meeting in Brussels.

Luxembourg Finance Minister Pierre Gramegna said he could not vote in favour and pushed the decision to a summit of EU government leaders next week.

Luxembourg has insisted for years it would support the proposed law only if non-EU banking hubs within Europe, particularly Switzerland, also sign up.

But as the EU’s negotiations with Switzerland, Liechtenstein and three other nations on signing the agreement have made progress, Luxembourg has responded with new reasons for opposition, chiefly the risk that banks outside Europe would draw deposits away if the continent’s banking rules are tightened too much.

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said he was confident that Luxembourg would drop its opposition at next week’s summit.

“We’ve been working on this for such a long time, whether we agree today or in four weeks, that doesn’t kill me either,” he said.

EU officials say tax fraud and companies’ aggressive cross-border tax avoidance schemes cost the bloc’s governments an estimated 1 trillion euros a year, money needed in an age of sluggish growth and high debt across Europe.

http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/world/luxembourg-blocks-eu-tax-evasion-law/article5774777.ece

:Woohoo 2:

That's the spirit: Luxembourg blocks EU tax evasion law

That's the spirit: Luxembourg blocks EU tax evasion law

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