France Gets Names of UBS Accountholders

Although the United States was the first country to undergo the process of extracting the names of tax-evading secret accountholders, France has followed suit in its crusade against French tax evaders. The European country, which has expressed its desire to be among the lead players in the global financial system, has managed to acquire over 3,000 names, many of which it suspects of tax evasion.
 
France has given the 3,000 suspected tax evaders a chance to come forward and accept their punishment, promising to take proper action against them if they choose to not come forward instead. The move comes after French President Nicolas Sarkozy set several initiatives in place to ensure that French bank leaders do not compensate themselves unjustly.
 
Switzerland, which has long been the world’s largest offshore banking center, has suffered recently from being named by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development a tax haven. By cooperating with France, Switzerland will give France taxable access to about $4.3 billion in money that would have been otherwise invisible.

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