EU police report shows holes in US data deal

EUobserver writes that US demands for EU banking data under the so-called Swift agreement are "too general and abstract" for Europol to allow a proper evaluation of the necessity of those transfers, an inspection report carried out by the police agency's own supervisory body reveals.

Read more here: http://euobserver.com/9/31947/?rk=1

EU scraps bank secrecy to catch cross-border tax evaders

EUobserver.com reports that EU finance ministers on Tuesday (7 December) agreed to remove bank secrecy as a reason for blocking cross-border tax fraud investigations, in a bid to find fresh resources for cash-strapped state coffers.


"Tax evaders can no longer exploit bank secrecy as an excuse," EU taxation commissioner Algirdas Semeta said after the meeting.

Targeted is all "income from employment, directors' fees, dividends, capital gains, royalties, certain life insurance products, pensions, and ownership of and income from immovable property." The new rules will apply from 1 January next year, but they will not be retroactive.


Read the full article here: http://euobserver.com/9/31455/?rk=1