Cowen welcomes investigation to Liechtenstein list

FINANCE Minister Brian Cowen said he does not know the extent of the problem of Irish people using tax havens but he welcomed the Revenue Commissioners investigating the Liechtenstein list.

The German tax authorities paid a reputed €4.2 million to a former employee of the Liechtenstein LGT bank for a list of their customers, which may include Irish names.

Mr Cowen, who attended a meeting of EU finance ministers in Brussels yesterday, said the fact the database had been stolen was not relevant to the Irish authorities.

The matter of Irish tax evaders was an issue for the Revenue and he was sure if information came to their attention about other tax havens, they would pursue it also.

Germany won some support from other countries, especially France, for demands for tougher rules and more transparency to prevent tax evasion by EU citizens.

Mr Cowen said there is a lot of information sharing and co-operation taking place but they needed to see where this could be improved. Some places, such as Singapore and Macao, had very strong security rules and the process of engagement with them was ongoing.

Asked if he supported Germany, he said he supported as much transparency as was possible to achieve.

Liechtenstein and Switzerland, although not EU members, signed up to the EU’s savings tax directive and charges foreign account holders tax which it passes on to the relevant country without giving the name of the account holder.

Germany wants to review the agreement to include foundations as well as private accounts but Austria is not keen as it secured a deal for its banks. Any change would require unanimity among the 27 EU countries.