Ethics and governance in the European Financial centers

Luc Frieden went to the USA to explain the Luxembourg views on taxes.


The wording of the press release is worth reading between the lines:

Le ministre Frieden a tenu à informer les responsables du ministère des Finances américain et de l’administration fiscale de la nouvelle position luxembourgeoise en matière d’échange d’informations sur demande conforme aux standards de l’OCDE.
(Minister Frieden made a point of informing the persons in charge of the American Ministry of Finance and the tax administration of the new Luxembourg position as regards information exchange on request in conformity with the standards of OECD.)

“made a point of informing”: by using this expression, Luxembourg shows the weakness of the jurisdiction as it relates to the USA.
“the new Luxembourg position” : it means that Luxembourg did not comply with the standards of OECD before and therefore was a tax haven.

Les autorités américaines ont salué la volonté de coopération du Luxembourg dans la lutte internationale contre la violation des lois fiscales
(The American authorities welcomed Luxembourg’s will of cooperation in the international fight against the violation of tax laws.)

“the will of cooperation”: by using this expression, Luxembourg shows the weakness of the jurisdiction as it relates to the USA. For example someone guilty “cooperates” with the police. Should Luxembourg be in a strong position, a word like “commitment” would have been used: “The American authorities greeted the commitment of Luxembourg…”

Le ministre Frieden a également rencontré des membres des deux Chambres du Congrès américain pour les convaincre que le Luxembourg ne devrait figurer sur aucune des listes qui figurent dans certaines propositions de loi actuellement en discussion au Congrès américain
(Minister Frieden also met members of parliament to convince them that Luxembourg should not be listed on any of the lists which appear in some bills currently under discussion before the American Congress.)

“to convince them” : it is not said members of parliament were convinced, exactly like French MPs.

Bob Bauman has reported that Senator Max Baucus will support an alternative text to the "Stop Tax Haven Abuse Act" that was introduced by Senator Carl Levin.
Both senators are Democrats. Max Bocus chaired the Senate Finance Committee.

This story demonstrates that like in the European Union, politics that in influenced by lobbies, decide of policies.

But if I were the leaders of a place as Luxembourg I would not be jubilant: the Madoff case showed and wil show large deficiencies in the juridiction, admitted by the head of the CSSF.

In the context of the G 20 and of the debate against tax havens, the 7th Annual Financial Due Diligence Conference specializes in cutting edge information and intelligence on Fraud, Money Laundering, Tax Evasion, Compliance, Risk Management & Asset Recovery as they relate to Offshore Financial Centers.

It will take place on 26-28 April 2009.

Power Speakers will be :
Jeffrey Owens, Director of the OECD's Center for Tax Policy and Administration, who will give a Keynote Address on 'Offshore Financial Centers: Adapting to the New Political Realities'. He will outline the global political initiatives against OFCs and the consequences of not being an acceptable international player;
Ronald Sanders, a former Caribbean diplomat, now corporate executive, is generally considered to be an expert on the role of small states in the global community, who will outline his vision of the role that OFCs can play in the modern global economy;
Bob Roach, Counsel & Chief Investigator on US Senator Carl Levin's Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, who will give an insider's insight into the tax investigations against prominent offshore banks and their clients and explain what OFCs can expect from the Senate under a Barack Obama Administration;
Martin Kenney, one of the world's best-known asset recovery attorneys, as evidenced by an appearance on the CBS TV show '60 Minutes', who will show you techniques that have helped him successfully locate, freeze and seize concealed proceeds of crime all over the world;
Edward M. Robbins, Jr. and Bob Bernhoft, tax attorneys who came to prominence while defending billionaire UBS client Igor Olenicoff and actor Wesley Snipes, respectively, against criminal actions by the IRS, who will show you how to defend IRS administrative and criminal investigations, including taking a look at Fifth Amendment implications in offshore investigations, including UBS.

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