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Fin Committee reviews secrecy – secret accounts

08/03/2004 09:54
Amid raising concerns with regard to the market stagnation and the uncertainty on the solution of the Cyprus issue, the House Finance Committee will meet on Monday to discuss the partial lifting of the banking secrecy, the tax amnesty and the capital flight abroad.

The meeting will not be attended by the Finance Minister, Marcos Kyprianou, but will be represented by the General Manager, Christos Patsalides. The meeting will be attended by the Central Bank Governor, the Income Tax Superintendent and the Commercial Banks’ Association.

The members of the House Finance Committee would like to see the approval of the bill for the regulation of the secret accounts and the partial lifting of the banking secrecy to eliminate tax evasion.

According to StockWatch sources, the Finance Committee agrees with the estimates of certain economic factors, according to which the delayed regulation coincides with the talks on the Cyprus issue and the “psychology” of the interested parties, who will not proceed to acts before the clarifications of the economic parameters of the solution.

Given that as from May 1 the secret account holders will be able to export legally capital abroad, the fears for a loss of millions of pounds from the state funds are growing. In case of a solution before May 1, it is expected that the secret account holders will not express their interest before they ascertain the economic prospects of the solution.