TAX NEWS - June 2010

Spain Tax: Spain investigates 3,000 Swiss accounts on tax evasion suspicion

Madrid - The Spanish government is investigating 3,000 Swiss bank accounts for tax collection purposes, Economy Minister Elena Salgado said Thursday.

She did not give further details, but the daily El Pais said the accounts hold Spanish deposits worth more than 6 billion euros (7.4 billion dollars). Most of the account holders are suspected of tax evasion, according to the daily.

The government did not, however, intend to take court action against those account holders who addressed the situation, paying their taxes retroactively and a sanction, media reports said.

The savings could be classified as capital gains, which would earn the state almost 3 billion euros in taxes, according to El Pais.

French authorities alerted Spain about the bank accounts as part of tax information exchanges within the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

Spain is stepping up the fight against tax evasion as part of its efforts to cut its budget deficit of 11.2 per cent.