Countries which repeatedly use tax amnesties but which do not give wide publicity to these efforts stand far less chance of regaining revenues than states which use them rarely, according to the results of a survey by Datamonitor.
Countries which repeatedly use tax amnesties but which do not give wide publicity to these efforts stand far less chance of regaining revenues than states which use them rarely, according to the results of a survey by Datamonitor.
It said banks in Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man were at most risk if amnesties are successful in future. It also warned that Switzerland was at risk due to its reliance on Germans’ offshore cash.
In recent years, governments such as those of the UK and Italy have used amnesty arrangements to hunt after money believed to be secreted abroad in places such as Switzerland and Liechtenstein.
Related
At one extreme, governments – such as Germany’s – have bought client account information that has been stolen from private banks, as in the case of Liechtenstein’s LGT. Germany has also bought such data stolen from Credit Suisse.
Datamontor, a financial research firm, says its survey of amnesties has identified five factors that drive whether these moves succeed: structural changes in the home market; attractiveness of the terms of the amnesty; frequency of announced amnesties in the country; enforcement powers/threat of non-compliance and finally, the level of publicity for the enforcement measures.
To read the full story, visit wealthbriefing.com
Content from our partners
