Government sets tough course on international tax evasion

New centre established to focus efforts on gaining better foothold in tax havens

A unanimous Parliament yesterday agreed to significantly step up Denmark’s efforts to combat international tax evasion.

Among the new initiatives are the establishment of a new centre that will consolidate efforts against tax evasion, more transparency regarding tax consultancy and more resources dedicated to controlling tax havens.

“It’s damaging to the ordinary Dane’s sense of justice when they see the cheaters sneak money across borders in a bid to avoid paying taxes,” said the tax minister, Karsten Lauritzen.

“Naturally, we must do everything to stop that. The former government had already created a sound foundation in this arena and I am pleased to further build on that.”

Sharing responsibility
Some 100 million kroner has been set aside over the next four years for a new centre against international tax evasion in a bid to made it easier to share information and data, and thus better identify new methods and patterns of fraud.

The parties also agreed to focus on the responsibility tax consultants have when they give counsel about business models that enable tax evasion abroad. To this end, the tax legislation council, Skattelovrådet, will look into the possibility of setting up a disclosure duty to increase the likelihood of discovery.

“It’s always been the government’s belief that a Danish-specific law is not the way forward when fighting international tax evasion,” said Lauritzen.

“The most effective solutions are those we find in co-operation with other – and much larger – players on the global scene.”