Tax evaders and avoiders were aided by banks, lawyers and financial experts whom the Portuguese governments also regularly hired to outsource to them, supposedly,the defense of State interests - all ending up usually in corrupt contracts and laws full of loopholes to assist tax criminals.
Last year, already with the country under bail-out, with taxes drastically raised on the people who pay them, the Portuguese Government afforded a "tax amnesty" to tax criminals, allowing them to keep secrecy and pay a ridiculous fine of 7.5% to legalize and keep, mostly in Swizerland, more than 3.4 billion euros. Not even demanding repatriation of capital! And all with Troika blessing!...
Lagarde lists, Liechtenstein lists served actually only to protect tax criminals and shroud them in even more secrecy by Portuguese authorities.
Automatic exchange of information is indeed essential at the EU and global levels. Austria and Luxembourg must be named and shamed for obstructing it.
EU Government members and any experts who protect or assist tax criminals must be exposed, tried and exemplarily punished".
(My one minute statement at EP debate today, on fighting tax fraud and evasion, to be discussed by EU Council tomorrow.
I had no time to utter the two last sentences. But here they are)
