Austrian Parliament Falls Short Of Loosening Bank Secrecy Laws
VIENNA (AFP)--Austrian members of parliament failed Wednesday to approve a
resolution relaxing the country's strict banking secrecy laws, which came under
fire this year.
The amendment needed two-thirds of the vote to pass. The ruling Socialists and
conservatives were unable to secure the support of any of the opposition
parties.
The resolution has been sent back to committee and now will not be adopted
before the autumn, since Parliament begins its summer recess at the end of this
week.
Austria's banking secrecy came under fire from the Organization for Economic
Cooperation and Development earlier.
But Vienna said in March it would supply information about individual bank
accounts if suspicions were justified, in a bid to be taken off the OECD's "grey
list" of tax havens.
Up til then, Austria had only supplied such information if criminal procedures
had been launched against an individual and a court order had been issued.
Apart from relaxing its banking secrecy, Austria must also sign a series of
bilateral agreements to satisfy the OECD.
Wednesday, Finance Minister Josef Proell said opposition parties would be
responsible if Austria remained on the OECD's grey list.
Along with the Socialists, he accused opposition deputies of covering up tax
evasion.
The far-right Alliance for Austria's Future and the environmental Greens, in
an unusual alliance, called for more power for the Austrian Audit court in
exchange for their vote on relaxing the banking secrecy laws.
The other far-right party, the Freedom Party, refused to approve the
resolution, claiming it would only create problems for small savers.
-Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2900
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
07-08-091519ET
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