Liechtenstein pledges to co-operate on tax

Liechtenstein is considering plans to make it more difficult for wealthy foreigners to salt money away in the principality.

'We will not give up bank secrecy,' Otmar Hasler, the prime minister, told the FT. 'But we are willing to collaborate with other nations when it comes to the misuse of bank secrecy laws for tax evasion.'

The move could prove a major breakthrough for the OECD, which has been trying to get tax havens to at least open up to information sharing with other countries.

Details of the initiative are as yet unclear, but one measure being considered was thought to be an offer to give governments information about people with undeclared accounts provided they did not suffer excessive penalties, the FT reported.

Under the scheme, account-holders would be told their details were to be made available, giving them time to transfer their money elsewhere, the paper said.

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