Financial Transparency Coalition

It is a fact that the trust laws of some tax havens openly promote illegality. The reality that some tax havens will not enforce foreign laws (e.g. ensuring non-recognition of foreign laws and judgements that favoured legitimate heirs and former spouses) is even publicly advertised by some offshore service providers, not on the deep web

Last week, while showcasing draft EU laws on tax transparency, commissioner Algirdas Semeta told media in Brussels he is building "the most comprehensive information exchange system in the world." He added: "The EU system will become even broader than the US system." It is an astonishing claim. The wide-reaching impact of the new US regime - the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), which came into force on 1 January - has been demonstrated by a storm of angry reactions in worldwide financial centres. Some of Semeta's proposals, notably his amendments to the EU Savings Tax Directive (EUSTD), do broaden the...