Luxembourg will abandon bank secrecy

17.04.2013

Luxembourg`s government announced, that Luxembourg will become one of the countries of European Union, which will enact system of auto exchanging tax information about incomes of it`s citizens. Minister of finance of Luxembourg`s, Luc Frieden also support idea of exchanging tax information, and added, that it’s necessary to review banking system now from the worldwide tendency of finding tax wrongdoers.

Luc Frieden also mentioned, that auto exchange of tax information become worldwide trend, which hard to stop, because more and more countries requests Luxembourg`s banks to get information about accounts and operations of it’s clients. Minister added, that Luxembourg is not afraid of loosing a part of it`s clients, which tries to cover their money in Luxembourg’s banks, even of meaning of banking system for country at all (20% of GDP takes banks activities). So, Minister of Finance and Government of Luxembourg hopes, that clients uses Luxembourg`s bank not because of their secrecy, but because of their reliability.

Through the plan, new banking system will start it work from 1 of January of 2015.

However, it`s important to notice, that exchanging of tax information about persons, which are not citizens of European Union, will be regulated under international tax agreements between countries.

Based on:

http://www.gouvernement.lu/

Expert’s opinion

Switzerland, Cyprus, Luxembourg. In experts predictions- Slovenia will be next. Then turn will come to Austria. Now we are witnesses of a massive attack on the banking system of the European Union. First, Switzerland banking system was “split” by the United States. Cypriot banking system was destroyed by Germany.

Jean-Claude Juncker (Prime Minister of Luxembourg) mentions, that such influence on European banking system comes from the United States. If the banking system pressured U.S. only - it would be understandable. But in fact that pressure comes from United States and European Union.

A natural question arises: "What is the purpose of those radical reforms of the banking system? Who benefits?". Right now there are only two forces in mind, which can get profit from this situation.

Forces from the United States can get profit from this situation, because those money from the European Union will go to the United States. What is the role of those money in the USA isn`t clear. Whether they will be used as an investment, or will be sanitized. That does not matter.

Second force is the European Union and Germany in particularly, which prefer to make money in real sector, without inflating financial bubbles.

After Switzerland, Luxembourg carried the banner of the world piggy bank "old money." Now all the savings, which has not exactly "pure status" in terms of tax, would become available for public access to information about them and it revision.

Now, holders of anonymous accounts faced such choice: either to play financial games and hide the money in the U.S.A. or Asia, or legalize them quickly and send it to the real economy.

Yaroslav Lomakin ( Managing partner of “Honest&Bright” company)