G20 members announce delay in sanctions for tax havens
Despite Gordon Brown's very heavy-handed approach to offshore taxation in the UK he has today joined a party of G20 leaders calling for possible sanctions to be delayed until March 2010. In April 2009 the G20 leaders suggested they would name and shame the various tax havens around the world that were unwilling to cooperate regarding the subject of potential offshore tax liabilities. However, over the last few months we have seen an increase in cooperation between the parties which has led to a more structured approach to the problem.
The UK government alone is set to rake in over £500 million in unpaid tax on overseas deposits and we can only imagine what the likes of the US and other countries could receive. Whether we will see the creation of yet more overseas tax havens to fill the gap left by the likes of Switzerland and Liechtenstein remains to be seen but in reality where there is a will there is a way!
Switzerland is perhaps the main target for G20 leaders having an estimated $7 trillion of offshore wealth held within the Swiss banking system. It is difficult to know exactly which accounts have been declared to the various tax authorities but the figures involved could be enormous.
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