Dutch pressure Swiss banks
03 02 10 From the New York Times:European governments kept up the pressure on Switzerland and its famed banking secrecy laws, with fresh reports from the Netherlands and Belgium raising the stakes in the battle to find tax evaders. The Dutch government released data late on Tuesday showing wealthy savers last year declared more than 2 billion euros (1.74 billion pounds) hidden in overseas bank accounts, with a third of the accounts in Switzerland. The report came just hours after the Netherlands confirmed it was seeking copies of stolen Swiss bank data on cross-border tax evaders that the German government is considering purchasing from an informant.
The Dutch Finance Ministry said a total of 2.15 billion euros was declared last year under a penalty-free amnesty for what it calls "zwartspaarders," or "black savers." The average declaration was around 260,000 euros, Deputy Finance Minister Jan Kees De Jager said in a letter to parliament late on Tuesday. The largest amount reaching 81 million euros and more than 300 declarations were for more than 1 million euros. Swiss banks held nearly 2,300 of the accounts, De Jager said, while banks in Belgium and Luxembourg held close to 4,000. The Finance Ministry also noted that the end of the penalty-free amnesty had not stopped people from confessing to hidden accounts. The ministry said despite the introduction of a 15 percent penalty from January 1, 34 more people had declared themselves so far this year.
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