Information exchange key to curb tax evasion: gov't advisor

Exchange of information is a key to tackle tax evasion, said a government advisor for the Finnish Ministry of Finance on Monday.

Finland cannot fight against tax evasion, tax avoidance and tax havens alone, Antero Toivainen, government advisor at the Finnish Ministry of Finance, told Finnish national broadcaster Yle.

He added eradication of tax evasion has been a long-term project, which can be only improved through the exchange of information.

The so-called exchange of information refers to the new global standard on Automatic Exchange of Information, which was developed by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development(OECD) in July 2014.

Toivainen said that the exchange of information will expand in 2017, and about 50 countries around the world will be involved in the scheme then.

Enhancing information exchange has contributed to the fact that companies and operators have changed their behaviors, as the risk of being caught is greater, he explained.

On Sunday, the first media reports, which were based on the 11.5 million confidential documents created by the Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca that provide detailed information on more than 214,000 offshore companies, were published.

Toivainen said if the leakage contains information about people living in Finland, the matter must be transferred to the tax authorities. Endit