ECOFIN OKs banking secrecy demise

(ANSA) - Luxembourg, October 14 - The ECOFIN meeting of eurozone finance ministers on Tuesday green-lit the exchange of banking and fiscal data between member States in a bid to track down tax dodgers. The new measure becomes effective in 2017 in 27 eurozone countries and the following year in Austria, which said it needed more time.
    The measure will allow individual countries to track down and levy taxes on assets being held in foreign banks by individuals, entities, and funds.
    "The European Union has taken a substantial step forward in the fight against tax evasion," said Italian Economy Minister Pier Carlo Padoan, who is the duty president of ECOFIN.