European Commission to review tax laws

BRUSSELS, March 5 (UPI) -- The European Commission said it will accelerate proposals on new tax laws to clamp down on tax evasion, it was reported Wednesday.

In the wake of a tax scandal that rocked Germany in February, the commission said it would produce a report in May and complete a formal review in June.

Germany is leading the push for tax law changes, the International Herald Tribune reported.

German Finance Minister, Peer Steinbruck called the scandal, that included the arrest of Deutsche Post head Klaus Zumwinkel on charges that he diverted large sums of money to a bank in Lichtenstein, "a spectacular tax fraud."

More than 70 Germans have confessed to tax evasion.

Luxembourg, Belgium and Austria, however, have indicated they will push to maintain the right not to disclose sums deposited by foreign investors, the report said.

It took 14 years of sometimes contentious argument to come up with the current tax agreement that covers the Eurozone, plus Switzerland, Liechtenstein, San Marino, Monaco and Andorra and 10 former British and Dutch colonies.

The law was established in 2005, but critics remain.

"Tax paradises in practice become tax parasites," said Anders Borg, the Swedish finance minister.