Sarkozy takes swipe at “tax havens”
French President Nicolas Sarkozy has spoken out against tax havens at the conclusion of the G20 summit, calling for them to be “excluded from the international community”.
At the meeting in Cannes, Sarkozy listed 11 states, including Switzerland, which – he said – do not have any legal framework governing the exchange of tax information.
Besides Switzerland, Sarkozy named states like Barbados, Botswana, Panama, Uruguay, the Seychelles and Vanuatu.
“We don’t want to have tax havens any more. Our message is very clear,” the French president said.
He added that a list of countries which do not conform to acceptable tax practices would be published at all future G20 summits.
In response to Sarkozy’s statement, a spokesman for the Swiss State Secretariat for International Financial Matters (SIF) reiterated that Switzerland has already adhered to the global standards on the exchange of information in tax matters.
The standards have been set out by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
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