22. 05. 12. - 16:18

Liechtenstein 'is turning into a haven of stability'

The prime minister of Liechtenstein has defended his country against accusations of being a tax haven.

Klaus Tschütscher told Austrian magazine profil: "We have the highest standards regarding money laundering, tax cooperation and supervisory issues. (...) Liechtenstein is developing from a tax oasis into a stability oasis."

Tschütscher underlined that Liechtenstein carried out a substantial reform of its foundation law four years ago. He said: "Now we want to regulate tax issues with the same spirit. We are interested in efficient and quick solutions. Foreign countries should get their tax revenues."

Austrian finance ministry officials have been holding tax with their Liechtenstein counterparts for weeks, trying to reach an agreement regarding the taxation of Austrians’ assets in foundations in the small principality.

Only last month, Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP) Finance Minister Maria Fekter agreed with her Swiss counterpart Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf about a double tax treaty concerning private Austrian equity on Swiss bank accounts. The agreement means that Austrians’ money in Switzerland would be retroactively charged with tax rates between 15 and 38 per cent depending on when they opened accounts there and if certain taxes have already been paid.

ÖVP and Social Democrats (SPÖ) hope to achieve additional annual tax revenues of one billion Euros in 2013 thanks to the agreement with Switzerland, with another 50 million Euros a year from 2014. Such incomes could help the government in reaching its own budget goals. SPÖ and ÖVP said in February they wanted to eradicate the structural budget deficit until 2017. The public debt must decline as well to avoid sanctions by the European Commission (EC).

Fekter – who is, according to a recent Austrian public opinion poll, one of the least trusted ÖVP politicians – said after meeting with Widmer-Schlumpf in Bern that she now wanted to concentrate on reaching an agreement with the government of Liechtenstein. Fekter explained her target was to close tax loopholes Austrians might benefit from at the moment by saving their money in foundations registered in Liechtenstein.

Tschütscher – who became prime minister of Liechtenstein in 2009 – told profil that "Liechtenstein is not only functioning due to its standing as a financial market. Forty-five to 50 per cent of people have industrial jobs. (...) We offer solid work and good wages to the 9,000 Austrians who are working in Liechtenstein."

Speaking about his country’s disputed reputation, he said: "Wealthy people are looking for politically and economically solid countries free from constant tax debates. (...) This is what offers a sense of security of not being dispossessed to an investor."

The Liechtenstein prime minister refused to comment whether he could imagine agreeing with implementing a tax rate between 20 and 40 per cent on Austrians’ assets in foundations in Liechtenstein as suggested by the Austrian finance ministry. "The Austrian government received our offer in autumn 2010," he told magazine profil.

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