G20 to consider tax haven sanctions: French finance minister
Saturday, 4 April 2009
PRAGUE, April 3 (AFP): After their offensive on tax havens, the G20 leading economic powers are turning their attention to possible sanctions, including fines on banks that use offshore centres, the French finance minister said Friday.
G20 finance ministers will "work on sanctions ... for those uncooperative centres that don't bring themselves up to (international) norms," Christine Lagarde said on the sidelines of a meeting with her EU counterparts in Prague.
After a G20 summit in London on Thursday, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development issued one list of uncooperative tax havens and a second list of countries and territories that are committed to cooperation but have yet to get their norms up to international levels.
The first list counted the Philippines, Malaysia, Costa Rica and Uruguay on it while the second had 38 names, including European Union members Austria, Belgium, Luxembourg as well as Switzerland and Liechtenstein.
"We'll undoubtedly have to develop a certain number of sanctions with financial establishments that maintain their relations with non-cooperative centres," Lagarde said.
She said that Paris was in favour of "a significant increase in required capital," which would mean that if a French bank continued to work with tax havens it would be required to put aside even more buffer reserves.
"It's a type of sanction that could perfectly taken at the national level," she added.
She blasted efforts to defend tax havens, arguing: "How can you be furious against the principle of saying that there needs to be transparency, that tax should be levied where it should be."
G20 finance ministers will "work on sanctions ... for those uncooperative centres that don't bring themselves up to (international) norms," Christine Lagarde said on the sidelines of a meeting with her EU counterparts in Prague.
After a G20 summit in London on Thursday, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development issued one list of uncooperative tax havens and a second list of countries and territories that are committed to cooperation but have yet to get their norms up to international levels.
The first list counted the Philippines, Malaysia, Costa Rica and Uruguay on it while the second had 38 names, including European Union members Austria, Belgium, Luxembourg as well as Switzerland and Liechtenstein.
"We'll undoubtedly have to develop a certain number of sanctions with financial establishments that maintain their relations with non-cooperative centres," Lagarde said.
She said that Paris was in favour of "a significant increase in required capital," which would mean that if a French bank continued to work with tax havens it would be required to put aside even more buffer reserves.
"It's a type of sanction that could perfectly taken at the national level," she added.
She blasted efforts to defend tax havens, arguing: "How can you be furious against the principle of saying that there needs to be transparency, that tax should be levied where it should be."