Political Journal Report
Liechtenstein Open to Bank Data Exchange Talks with EU
By Emma Thomasson
Published on May 16, 2013
Published on May 16, 2013
Liechtenstein has decided that they are going to start talking to the European Union about opening their bank account information. This is a reluctant response to an effort by the European Union for less secrecy concerning tax havens and principality. This secretive banking has built a large banking industry and has made the people of the small country of Liechtenstein very wealthy. Banking accounts for a third of the national input and directly about 16 percent of Liechtenstein’s jobs. The royal family of Liechtenstein has also profited tremendously from this baking, especially considering that the bank owned by Liechtenstein’s royal house is the biggest bank in Liechtenstein. This comes after Luxembourg's and Austria's announcement that they would be lifting some of the secrecy with their banking. However, anything that could happen would take a while because of privacy and general banking issues. Prime Minister Adrian Hasler will be doing the talks with the European Union.
My emotional response to this article is very simple. I would like to see this happen. I think that a deal like this a should happen and be implemented. This is because I believe that these offshore bank accounts are hurting the United States, who is also pushing Liechtenstein to accomplish these negotiations. These bank accounts are often used for tax evasions, usually by those who are already very wealthy but are to greedy to pay taxes. This causes loss in revenue for the United States. As for the effects on Liechtenstein, I believe the country would not be hurt that badly, if at all. It is stated that the economy of Liechtenstein is very stable. In fact these transparencies could actually help the economy of Liechtenstein, as it is said by Wilfried Marxer, director of the Liechtenstein Institute.
This article ties in closely with the political being of Liechtenstein. The banking industry plays a big role in the revenue for the government. It also is of great importance because of its relation to Prince Hans II, the princely monarch, whose family owns the largest bank in Liechtenstein. The money obtained from this bank, takes, and the family possessions makes the prince worth 5 billion dollars, which is close to the annual GDP for Liechtenstein. The article also talks about the overall effort of the European Union to disclose some banking information and the effort with Switzerland, a country to whom Liechtenstein is very closely linked to both economically and politically.
My emotional response to this article is very simple. I would like to see this happen. I think that a deal like this a should happen and be implemented. This is because I believe that these offshore bank accounts are hurting the United States, who is also pushing Liechtenstein to accomplish these negotiations. These bank accounts are often used for tax evasions, usually by those who are already very wealthy but are to greedy to pay taxes. This causes loss in revenue for the United States. As for the effects on Liechtenstein, I believe the country would not be hurt that badly, if at all. It is stated that the economy of Liechtenstein is very stable. In fact these transparencies could actually help the economy of Liechtenstein, as it is said by Wilfried Marxer, director of the Liechtenstein Institute.
This article ties in closely with the political being of Liechtenstein. The banking industry plays a big role in the revenue for the government. It also is of great importance because of its relation to Prince Hans II, the princely monarch, whose family owns the largest bank in Liechtenstein. The money obtained from this bank, takes, and the family possessions makes the prince worth 5 billion dollars, which is close to the annual GDP for Liechtenstein. The article also talks about the overall effort of the European Union to disclose some banking information and the effort with Switzerland, a country to whom Liechtenstein is very closely linked to both economically and politically.