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EU, San Marino sign new tax transparency agreement

Xinhua, December 9, 2015 Adjust font size:

The European Union (EU) and San Marino signed a landmark tax transparency agreement on Tuesday, constituting an important step forward in the fight against tax evasion.

The new agreement marks the end of bank secrecy between San Marino and the EU. As of 2017, San Marino and EU Member States will automatically exchange information on the financial accounts of one another's residents.

"This agreement between the EU and San Marino is an excellent example of the new norms for global transparency on tax issues," Pierre Moscovici, EU Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs, Taxation and Customs said.

"Both the EU and San Marino have shown that concrete action can and will be taken in the fight against tax avoidance and tax evasion," he added.

Under this deal, EU member states will receive the names, addresses, tax identification numbers and dates of birth of their residents with accounts in San Marino, as well as other financial and account balance information. The same will be valid for San Marino in relation to the accounts held by its residents within any of the EU member states.

The enhanced information exchange will help tax authorities to identify tax evaders, while also acting as a deterrent for those that wish to hide income and assets abroad, the European Commission said in a statement.

According to the statement, the EU signed a similar agreement with Switzerland in May this year and with Liechtenstein in October this year. Technical negotiations have just been finalised with Andorra and are at an advanced stage with Monaco. Endit