Offshore tax havens rocked by bank account leaks

Asked to comment if the apparent blow to tax havens was good news for the EU, Commission spokesperson Olivier Bailly seized the occasion to remind that the EU executive urges member states to take up the issue of tax evasion, including by adopting a common definition of what a tax haven.

He also said that tax evasion cost "more than €1,000 billion" per year in the EU.

Bailly reminded that the Commission had made “strong” proposals on tax evasion last 6 December and that it was still waiting the agreement of the member states.

In these thirty or do measures the Commission invites EU states to make a list of tax havens and adopt series of measures to avoid loopholes favoring tax evasion.

"For the Commission, there should be no complacency whatsoever for individuals, companies or countries that circumvent international law to organize tax evasion," he said.

Bailly avoided a direct answer to the question if Luxembourg is a tax heaven. He said that "very clear" rules applied to all member states on transmission of information concerning bank accounts. "We are rather trying to have a definition of practices that would be illegal, rather than a term which crystallizes tensions and misunderstandings", he added.

“This study shows the order of magnitude of the problem. It is a major step forwards towards more tax justice”, commented Bernadette Ségol, ETUC General Secretary. “I am calling on the European Institutions to step up their action plan on tax fraud and tax evasion. Annual tax revenues of €1000 billion per year or 10% of GDP could be collected by the tax authorities, provided they are given the means to do so,” she said.

“This study shows the order of magnitude of the problem. It is a major step forwards towards more tax justice”, commented Bernadette Ségol, ETUC General Secretary. “I am calling on the European Institutions to step up their action plan on tax fraud and tax evasion. Annual tax revenues of €1000 billion per year or 10% of GDP could be collected by the tax authorities, provided they are given the means to do so,” she said.

Financial institutions that help people to commit tax offences must be prosecuted, Bernadette Ségol added: “We now have solid proof that much of the tax fraud in the Union is facilitated by criminal activities of certain large banks who help rich people to set up fake companies and secret bank accounts in tax havens. We need serious retaliation from the tax authorities, including through European criminal law, to stop them doing that”.