MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Netherlands and Uruguay to sign treaty for exchange of fiscal data

Fiscal elusion and evasion has become a crucial issue since stringent anti terrorist financial controls were imposed

The Netherlands is planning to exchange fiscal data in future with Uruguay, Mauritius and Brunei, reports the Dutch press.

A proposal by Finance Minister Jan Kees de Jager to conclude a Tax Information Exchange Agreement with the three countries was backed by the caretaker cabinet Friday. The Netherlands will as a result obtain extra options in the fight against black savings and tax evasion.

Based on an exchange of information agreement, the Netherlands can request information from the tax service of another country on savings, dividends and profit distributions. The aim is to sign the treaties with Uruguay, Mauritius and Brunei in the second half of 2010.

There are now similar agreements with over 30 countries. In the first half of this year, information exchange agreements were signed with countries including Switzerland, Hong Kong, Belize, Santa Lucia, Gibraltar, the Marshall Isles and Liberia.

In related Switzerland announced that Brazil had withdrawn the country from the black list of fiscal havens. Three weeks ago Brazil included Switzerland in the black list.

Apparently Switzerland has now agreed to renegotiate a double taxing treaty.

“The Helvetia Confederation has tried different ways to have its name withdrawn from the black list”, said Mario Tuor spokesperson for Switzerland Secretary for International Financial Affairs.

Brazilian officials at the time said that the listing of Switzerland was because of the scant collaboration in the contention with United States over data on US clients suspicious of fiscal fraud operating in US affiliates of the Swiss bank UBS.

However Washington and Switzerland finally signed a cooperation agreement by which the US will receive bank data on those thousands of US citizens involved. The agreement was challenged in Swiss courts and Parliament but finally stood and becomes effective next month.

Switzerland figured in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, OECD, black list of fiscal havens until April 2009. It was later upgraded to the so-called ‘grey list’ until if signed double taxing agreements with twelve countries, as required by OECD.