There are 99 billion euros invested through Liechtenstein. According to the US Government’s 2007 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report. Volume 2, Liechtenstein’s has
- 16 banks, but the three largest banks account for slightly less than ninety percent of the market;
- three nonbank financial companies;
- 16 public investment companies;
- a number of insurance and reinsurance companies;
- [...]
This is a great article from the New York Times in 2000.
Back then it could report that:
Banks and fiduciaries are now required to identify clients and the source of their money; suspicious movements of funds must be reported; legal assistance to criminal investigators abroad is guaranteed.
Yet when financial inspectors from the Council of Europe visited [...]
Journalists have been asking this question, so it seems important to answer it. The OECD in 1998 defined a tax haven as a place that offered the following:
a) No or only nominal taxes
b) Lack of effective exchange of information
c) Lack of transparency
d) No substantial activities take place in the location that records a transaction.
Thinking has, [...]
The Prime Minister of Liechtenstein has written in the FT saying (amongst other things):
It is too early for a final assessment or even a legal assessment of this topic. It is not too early, however, to intensify our efforts to provide information on the far-reaching rules already introduced in Liechtenstein to secure our financial centre. [...]
The Times reports that Prince Alois of Liechtenstein has accused Germany of using:
draconian methods that defy the rule of law
adding that Germany had:
the worst tax system in the world.
I think it’s true that there are problems with the German tax system. But that’s a complete diversion: it’s been created by a democratically elected government and [...]
It’s always good to put a face to a name. This is Hereditary Prince Alois of Liechtenstein, the man who heads a state that seeks to promote tax evasion and who owns the biggest supplier of corruption services within it.
The words of T.S. Elliot in Macavity: The Mystery Cat come to mind. Go read it [...]
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Bloomberg reports that:
Liechtenstein’s Crown Prince Alois criticized German authorities for their handling of a tax- evasion probe, calling Germany’s use of intelligence methods to snare tax cheats an “attack” on the principality.
Alois spoke at a briefing in the Liechtenstein capital Vaduz today, adding that the country will take legal measures to guarantee the secrecy of [...]
I thought I should have a look at what the Center for Freedom and Prosperity had to say on the Liechtenstein debacle. They are, after all, the self proclaimed promoters of all that is beneficial (as they see it) about tax havens.
Do you know what? There’s not a word on the evolving situation on their [...]
I found an article on Mondaq.com from January 2008 looking at prospects for Liechtenstein for this year, based on comments from its prime minister and ruling prince. The latter said:
With respect to the future strategy for positioning the financial center, the Hereditary Prince recommends starting from the existing strengths of the financial center, which lie [...]
The OECD has issued a welcome press release concerning the developing problem concerning tax evasion in Liechtenstein. It says:
Disclosures concerning alleged widespread tax evasion by German citizens through Liechtenstein highlight a much broader challenge in today’s globalised economy: how to respond to countries and territories that seek to profit from tax dodging by residents of [...]
