Time running out for tax evaders as deal brokered with non-EU states

The opportunity for people to evade paying billions of euro in tax will be considerably reduced after a breakthrough by Finance Minister Michael Noonan that will see agreements brokered with five non-EU tax havens.

While Austria and Luxembourg still refuse to share information on who has savings in their banks, their prime ministers are set to reverse this when EU leaders meet next week.

The revision of the 2005 savings tax directive has been held up for two years because of the objections of the two countries. But with a global move against tax evasion, the EU has been ramping up the pressure in recent months.