Paradigms In Motion - Switzerland Leads Historic Revision Of Banking Secrecy

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Paradigms In Motion - Switzerland Leads Historic Revision Of Banking Secrecy

In the most significant development in private banking since the

Second World War, Europe's champions of banking secrecy have

pledged to implement information exchange arrangements consistent

with OECD standards. Switzerland, Austria, Liechtenstein, Belgium,

Andorra, Luxembourg and Monaco have all announced in recent days

their intentions of implementing varying degrees of tax information

exchange.

Switzerland, whose reputation is synonymous with private

banking, has promised that its tradition of banking secrecy will

continue, while at the same time acknowledging that banking secrecy

will 'not protect any form of tax offence'. These changes

represent shifts of historic proportions for jurisdictions long

considering tax evasion a non-criminal offence.

Pressure had been mountin...

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