Panama Papers spark tax ‘rush of generosity’
French government hopes to recoup €2billion in unpaid taxes from offshore accounts after Mossack Fonseca leak prompts wealthy to 'regularise' tax affairs
FINANCE Minister Michel Sapin has lauded the 'excess of public-spiritedness' in the latest rush of people asking to 'regularise' their tax affairs in the wake of the Panama Papers revelations.
The papers, leaked from Panama lawyers Mossack Fonseca, have seen names such as the Front National’s Jean-Marie Le Pen, former Parti Socialiste budget minister Jérôme Cahuzac, UEFA president Michel Platini, SFR and L’Express owner Patrick Drahi and former IMF boss Dominique Strauss-Kahn linked to offshore accounts.
Mr Sapin said it was not new and every time there was a story about hidden foreign accounts there was a sudden 'rush of generosity' towards the state.
The Service de Traitement des Déclarations Rectificatives, set up to deal with requests to register offshore accounts, last year managed to recover €2.65billion in unpaid taxes and fines and Mr Sapin said it had a target of €2bn this year.
Now the tax office has launched an official inquiry into the Panama Papers revelations, with the European Commission set to follow suit, and French tax inspectors will be looking at information on at least 12 well-known citizens.
The Senate finance commission has called on Société Générale to answer questions on its setting up of 1,000 companies via Mossack Fonseca after it told senators four years ago it had stopped such activity.
The 11.5million documents from Mossack Fonseca have led to the resignations of Icelandic and Spanish politicians and questions to David Cameron and Vladimir Putin.
