The European Union (EU) has been making efforts to seek Switzerland’s cooperation against tax evasion and money laundering, but Swiss banking secrecy laws remain a “bone of contention” between them, according to EU ambassador to India Daniele Smadja.
Weighing in on the debate in India over tax evasion and money laundering, she said the “issue has not been solved” to the mutual satisfaction of the 27-member European bloc and Switzerland, a non-EU country. Some exchange of “data” has been made possible, but secrecy remains intact.
Ms Smadja was responding to a question posed to her at a media interaction about how the EU viewed Swiss banking secrecy laws and whether it was of the opinion that banking secrecy was inviolable.
She said that over the years, the EU has held several rounds of talks with the Swiss authorities on this issue, but it has had little success in arriving at a satisfactory solution, either with Switzerland, or with Liechtenstein or Iceland.
The Indian government is fighting off accusations that it was reluctant to disclose information about black money stashed by Indians in foreign banks. Some critics of the government have cited precedents, such as that of Switzerland being forced to share details of bank accounts with the US, to claim that New Delhi is not doing enough.
It has been reported that UBS, Switzerland’s largest bank, agreed to pay over $700 million to the US in February 2009 for helping its American clients avoid taxes. The US later sought the names of over 50,000 American tax-evaders, but a settlement was reached whereby about 4,500 customer files were handed over to the US authorities.
Meanwhile, India and the EU can be expected to conclude the negotiations on a broad-based Free Trade Agreement by April 2011. However, Ms Smadja indicated that the agreement is not likely to be signed before the next India-EU summit to be held in New Delhi later this year. Dwelling on the issue of migration, she said that while the EU is open to Indian labour, it has legitimate concerns about illegal migrants.
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Cong defends govt on black money
AGE CORRESPONDENT
New Delhi
Jan. 21: Defending the government’s stand on the issue of black money, the Congress on Friday rejected suggestions that observations made by the Supreme Court is a kind of a rap on the establishment by saying that till the top court delivers the judgment, “exchange of views will continue to take place”.
The party also condemned the BJP for attacking the government on the issue claiming, “these are exigencies of government” and any attempt to mock at the official stand would prove counterproductive.