The EuroState’s insistent snooping into private citizens’ affairs continues with the directive that any bank account in Portugal containing €219,000 or more will be reported.
The directive now is being discussed by Portugal's Council of Ministers but before it finally is approved, the opinion of the National Data Protection Commission will be sought, not that this will halt progress of this C20 initiative.
This is not a Portuguese proposal but is endorsed from the C20 by the Eurocrats in Brussels as a ‘Community Directive’ which obliges member states’ banks to report their high net worth account holders.
Portugal’s banks are preparing to send information to Brussels about accounts held by foreigners who are not tax resident but live in Portugal. The first such report is scheduled for September 2017 and will target both the balances of existing accounts up to December 31, 2015 and those which were opened after January 1st 2016 i.e. all of them.
The twist from Europe is that banks must include account balances of both foreigners and nationals if they have $250,000 or more, or the equivalent in euros.
There is nothing stopping the Portuguese State from setting a lower threshold which will give its tax authority access to just the sort of private information that it might not be able to obtain through debate and voting in parliament.
Currently Portugal’s Finanças can make pretty accurate guesstimates of individual’s bank account balances based on the witholding tax deducted by banks and forwarded to the exchequer. Changes in witholding tax from year to year can show increases in income and cross-referenced with income tax declarations.
With this new move, the Portuguese State will be able to set a limit lower than the suggested $250,000 and have reports sent which list every account with more than the agreed minimum in it.
Portugal’s 2016 State budget ensures that the Tax Authority will be equipped with the tools necessary to monitor the obligation of banks to report account balances.
To cater for a new decree law published last week, the government has increased staff numbers in the Unit for Big Taxpayers which focuses on individuals with an annual income above €750,000 and/or with €5 million or more in assets. The new law will enable tax staff to take a detailed look at a wider base of suspects.
If income drops below the €750,000 level, the taxman will track the individual for a further four years. The previous thresholds were €5 million in income and €25 million in assets.
These moves will ensure that those on the fiddle will move their money or come up with tax efficient ways of using it out of reach of Portugal’s tax authority.
Those who are innocent of evasion but guilty only of being rich, soon will have another layer of privacy stripped away.
Comments
Some examples:
* The 219.000€ assets reporting is a striclly European matter that concerns "everybody who has a bank account";
* the CRS - common reporting standard - is an universal matter that aims to solve once and forever A. the fiscal residency of all persons and B. that will report all financial assets a person detains in every fiscal jurisdiction other than its "legal fiscal jurisdiction"
*In the case a non-fiscal resident with fiscal residency outside Portugal and detaining a bank account in Portugal than the Portugese banks don't have to send nothing to the EU but to the Portugese fiscal authority who will inform the fiscal authority of the country where that person has fiscal residency.
* and by the way: Portugese taxmen have already the most controversal and despictable law at their disposal : simply in case of " suspicion whatsoever" they can have a free and open look into the taxpayer's bank accounts. And there are many cases documented showing the taxman simply "plummed" bank accounts !
Yet another example of officialdom using a sledgehammer to crack a nut and missing most, if not all the usual suspects?
This is the old "nothing to worry about if you've done nothing wrong" argument.
The government treats us all like tax evaders so many misbehave - but is more and more reporting the answer? Those evading tax often stick to cash and will avoid these traps set by the State. large deposit accounts simply will be reduced to below the threshold.
It is an endless game of cat and mouse with billions in tax being lost to the black economy due to the current high levels of vat and income tax.
These new C20/EU reporting needs will achieve nothing.
p.s. what is Charly so pissed off about? How about some debate rather than slagging off Algarve News which at least has an opinion !
Perhaps you could explain what is annoying you?
The right to privacy is being slowly but surely withdrawn by governments, for what reason?
I agree with this article that shows that compliant governments are delighted to offer up yet more of their citizens' rights. Crooks will continue to adapt and adopt measure to stay ahead of these regulations. Innocent parties just because they have money soon will have no right to privacy. More money will be kept as cash. Foreigners are being treated differently to locals within a European super state that is meant to treat all people equally and without prejudice.
The form that the countries will use to communicate the 5 financial topics of each foreigner having a bank account in another than in his Original tax residency country will indeed be the actual document used in the last 5 years for the European Intrest Directive (but of course that doc will change of name)