Liechtenstein, which has been under pressure from worldwide tax officials to ease its bank secrecy standards, now says it will "cooperate" in an effort to ease global tax collector concerns about the reported billions of dollars stashed there by tax-averse customers.
But such "comprehensive cooperation," as Liechtenstein officials characterize it, only goes so far. So expect the tiny Alpine country to maintain its "culture of privacy."
"In the future, we should offer
if they are willing to find sensible solutions with us the for the
client relationships we have built up," Prince Alois of Liechtenstein
said in a statement.
Alois further qualified his promise, reports the BBC, by saying his country would continue
to practice "a culture of privacy that goes far beyond bank client
secrecy in tax matters," adding, "Our state is here for its citizens, not the other way around."
So rest assured, wealthy tax evaders. Liechtenstein knows who pays its bills.
Click here to read my most recent post on U.S. worries about offshore tax shelters in Liechtenstein and other nations that offer similar secret accounts.
