VOA慢速英语2014 卢森堡终结银行保密制度

 

AS IT IS 2014-10-24 Luxembourg Set to End Bank Secrecy¹ 卢森堡终结银行保密制度

From VOA Learning English, this is the Economics Report.

European Union finance ministers have reached an agreement that will make it more difficult for tax avoiders to hide their money.  The new legislation was approved last week after Luxembourg and Austria agreed to lift their vetoes. Countries known as tax havens³ had blocked the bank secrecy laws for years.

The new law means that depositors will no longer be able to hide their money from governments in EU countries like Luxembourg. So says Algirdas Semeta, the EU Commissioner⁴ for Taxation⁵.

“The revised directive promises full and lasting⁶ tax transparency in Europe.  Bank secrecy is dead, and automatic exchange of information will be applied⁷ in its widest form.”

Luxembourg agreed to share bank information with member countries starting in 2017.  Austria has signaled that it will do the same by 2018.

Jacob Kirkegaard is a researcher with the Peterson Institute for International Economics. He says the agreement is an important milestone⁸ in worldwide efforts to stop tax avoidance.

“This is a very significant development and it’s really the culmination⁹ of what at least in the EU has been a decade-long struggle by some governments - in France, Italy and Germany - to really curb¹⁰ this long standing¹¹ practice of anonymous¹², offshore¹³, if you like, bank accounts in other EU countries.”

Many years of bank secrecy have helped Luxembourg become one of Europe’s main financial centers.  Bank deposits in the country are valued at more than 10 times the size of the nation’s yearly economic production.

Switzerland once was among the world’s biggest tax havens: countries with little bank regulation or with low taxes. But the country ended its bank secrecy policy last year after facing intense legal pressure from Europe and the U.S.

People seeking to avoid taxes in their home country can still hide their money in less developed countries where bank supervision¹⁴ is weaker. But Jacob Kirkegaard says the choices and advantages of doing so are shrinking.

“Well, you can go to places like Dubai, some have mentioned Singapore, but Singapore has also recently joined these efforts, so it becomes increasingly difficult to keep your money at a place at which they are readily available.”

Some economists¹⁵ estimate that as much as eight percent of the world’s financial wealth may be hidden in tax haven² countries.  That is more than $7 trillion. It is estimated that worldwide tax income would increase by $200 billion if that money were correctly reported to tax officials.

Words in this Story

depositors – n. people placing money in a bank by making a deposit

signal – v. to be a sign of something, to show something

milestone – n. an important goal

tax havens – n. territories or countries were tax laws permit people or corporations to avoid or limit taxation or bank secrecy laws in their own countries

advantages – n. benefits or gains

1 secrecy   

n.秘密，保密，隐蔽

参考例句：

• All the researchers on the project are sworn to secrecy.该项目的所有研究人员都按要求起誓保守秘密。
• Complete secrecy surrounded the meeting.会议在绝对机密的环境中进行。

2 haven   

n.安全的地方，避难所，庇护所

参考例句：

• It's a real haven at the end of a busy working day.忙碌了一整天后，这真是一个安乐窝。
• The school library is a little haven of peace and quiet.学校的图书馆是一个和平且安静的小避风港。

3 havens   

n.港口，安全地方( haven的名词复数 )v.港口，安全地方( haven的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Your twenty havens would back out at the last minute anyhow. 你那二十个避难所到了最后一分钟也要不认帐。 来自辞典例句
• Using offshore havens to avoid taxes and investor protections. 使用海面的港口避免税和投资者保护。 来自互联网

4 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

5 taxation   

n.征税，税收，税金

参考例句：

• He made a number of simplifications in the taxation system.他在税制上作了一些简化。
• The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。

6 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。

7 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

8 milestone   

n.里程碑；划时代的事件

参考例句：

• The film proved to be a milestone in the history of cinema.事实证明这部影片是电影史上的一个里程碑。
• I think this is a very important milestone in the relations between our two countries.我认为这是我们两国关系中一个十分重要的里程碑。

9 culmination   

n.顶点；最高潮

参考例句：

• The space race reached its culmination in the first moon walk.太空竞争以第一次在月球行走而达到顶峰。
• It may truly be regarded as the culmination of classical Greek geometry.这确实可以看成是古典希腊几何的登峰造级之作。

10 curb   

n.场外证券市场，场外交易；vt.制止，抑制

参考例句：

• I could not curb my anger.我按捺不住我的愤怒。
• You must curb your daughter when you are in church.你在教堂时必须管住你的女儿。

11 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

12 anonymous   

adj.无名的；匿名的；无特色的

参考例句：

• Sending anonymous letters is a cowardly act.寄匿名信是懦夫的行为。
• The author wishes to remain anonymous.作者希望姓名不公开。

13 offshore   

adj.海面的，吹向海面的；adv.向海面

参考例句：

• A big program of oil exploration has begun offshore.一个大规模的石油勘探计划正在近海展开。
• A gentle current carried them slowly offshore.和缓的潮流慢慢地把他们带离了海岸。

14 supervision   

n.监督，管理

参考例句：

• The work was done under my supervision.这项工作是在我的监督之下完成的。
• The old man's will was executed under the personal supervision of the lawyer.老人的遗嘱是在律师的亲自监督下执行的。

15 economists   

n.经济学家，经济专家( economist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sudden rise in share prices has confounded economists. 股价的突然上涨使经济学家大惑不解。
• Foreign bankers and economists cautiously welcomed the minister's initiative. 外国银行家和经济学家对部长的倡议反应谨慎。 来自《简明英汉词典》