July 2010
Banking Secrecy: Exchange of Information in Luxembourg (July Update)
The debate on offshore jurisdictions and the call for an exchange of information at the OECD, EU and national levels (notably the US) has led to a degree of confusion which in turn may cause a reputational damage to jurisdictions traditionally associated with banking secrecy. This debate is relevant to Luxembourg which is renowned as a stable and highly professional platform for the structuring of international M&A transactions, a well established fund industry and, to a certain extent, as a private banking niche.
The present note, updated in July 2010, aims to clarify this debate. It briefly summarises the US anti-tax haven abuse bill and also covers the recent initiatives pushed forward by the EU Commission to improve the exchange of information and transparency between EU Member States.
The note summarises the process launched by Luxembourg to renegotiate its tax treaties with certain key OECD countries as far as the exchange of tax information is concerned. It provides details of the OECD announcement whereby Luxembourg has subsequently moved into the so called “white list”, making it a fully cooperating jurisdiction in the field of exchange of information in tax matters.
By Frédéric Feyten & Chokri Bouzidi
