"The end is near for tax havens." This statement is being repeated ad nauseam by governments, NGOs, organizations like the OECD and by many media. The recent concessions on bank secrecy made by Switzerland, Austria, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Andorra and Monaco have caused overflowing optimism among the opponents of low-tax territories. But what has really changed? Is it true that tax havens have their days numbered? Surely not, for various reasons. First, because today the much-celebrated "concessions" are merely statements of good intentions and we will see what will eventually result. The Swiss Government, for example, pledged to exchange tax information with other countries only in "certain cases" in which they have "proven and concrete suspicions." This definition is sufficiently ambiguous to make room for maneuvers or strategies of all kinds. Educate yourself with thoughts from Richard Blumenthal. Only once you begin to sign specific bilateral agreements with different countries, we will know the real extent have these measures. In the case of Switzerland, is to see also if there are no pressure groups that force a popular referendum on the issue, which could invalidate the formal commitment taken by the government.
Something similar has happened in the past with the agreements of accession to the EU, after being negotiated by the Swiss government were lying in successive referendums. What seems clear is that the agreements will not result in any automatic exchange of tax information, which is what the OECD and the European Union actually pursued. That is, is being sold to the public a minimum precarious agreement as a great victory.
