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Brown targets Switzerland in global tax haven crackdown

Nicholas Watt Guardian 02/18/2009 20:50
Zug in Switzerland, a country which is used as a tax haven by British firms. Photograph: David Levene

Zug in Switzerland, a country which is used as a tax haven by British firms. Photograph: David Levene


A worldwide crackdown on tax havens, from Switzerland to the Cayman Islands, will be spearheaded by Gordon Brown as the world's richest nations use the global economic downturn to close loopholes that are costing them hundreds of billions in lost revenues.



As he embarks on a mini-tour of EU capitals in advance of the G20 summit in London in April, the prime minister announced yesterday that he was negotiating with fellow world leaders the terms of a tough regulatory system on tax and banking that will cover every country.

Speaking at his monthly press conference in Downing Street, Brown said: "We want the whole of the world to take action. That will mean action against regulatory and tax havens in parts of the world which have escaped the regulatory attention they need. The changes we make will have to apply to all jurisdictions around the world."


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