Why Europe’s new tax initiative is a big deal

Public outcry over revelations in April 2016 in the Panama papers about global levels of tax dodging has led to political action. Europe’s five largest economies – the UK, France, Germany, Italy and Spain – have agreed on the 14 April 2016 to new transparency rules, which will require banks to identify the ultimate beneficial ownership of assets.

Tax and law enforcement agencies from the five countries will exchange data on company beneficial ownership registers and new registers of trusts, allowing for more effective investigation of financial wrongdoing.

The five European countries also wrote to their G20 counterparts, urging progress towards a fully global exchange of beneficial ownership information in order to remove ‘the veil of secrecy under which criminals operate’.

• Primary Source

ESO: Background information: 'Panama papers' in a nutshell http://www.europeansources.info/record/panama-papers-in-a-nutshell/

BBC News, 14.04.16: Five EU nations launch tax crackdown http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-36049817

UK: GOV.UK: HM Treasury: News, 14.04.16: UK leads European calls for G20 action on beneficial ownership https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-leads-european-calls-for-g20-action-on-beneficial-ownership

OECD: Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes https://www.oecd.org/tax/transparency/

Deutsche Welle, 15.04.16: G20 faces push for tax haven transparency http://dw.com/p/1IWS2

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