G-20 threatens penalties on tax havens

Proactive stand: Varela had said his government was committed to the automatic exchange of financial and corporate information – EPA

WASHINGTON: Group of 20 economies threatened to penalise havens that don’t share information on their banking clients after the leak of the Panama Papers provoked a global uproar over tax evasion.

The G-20 will consider “defensive measures” against financial centres and jurisdictions that don’t commit to an international standard requiring the exchange of information about account holders, the group’s finance ministers and central bankers said last Friday in a statement after meeting in Washington.