Switzerland is still Number 1 when it comes to keeping secrets.As per the Financial Secrecy Index 2015 by Tax Justice Network (TJN), Switzerland retained its top slot, while Hong Kong was ranked second.
The biennial FSI ranking is based on a combination of a country's secrecy score and a scale-weightage based on the country's share in the global market for its offshore financial services.
The US climbed from sixth to third spot.
It is noteworthy that Switzerland, US, Singapore and Germany figure in the top 10 list of FSI-2015 and are also top FDI investors to India.
Mauritius is India's top FDI investor and has a secrecy score of 72, whereas India's second largest FDI investor, Singapore, has a lower secrecy score of 69 points.
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"Switzerland stays at the top of the index and for good reason: Despite what you may have heard, Swiss banking secrecy is far from dead, though it has curbed its secrecy somewhat,” stated TJN.
It also stated US is more of a cause for concern than any other individual country, because of both the size of its offshore sector and also its rather recalcitrant attitude to international co-operation and reform. Though it has been a pioneer in defending itself from foreign secrecy jurisdictions, aggressively taking on the Swiss banking establishment and setting up its technically quite strong foreign account tax compliance act (FATCA), it provides little information in return to other countries.
The UAE (Dubai), which is India's eleventh largest investor, has been ranked tenth in FSI-2015.
Meanwhile, the average secrecy score fell from 66 to 60 when compared to FSI-2013.
Liz Nelson, director at TJN, adds, "None of the reforms we've seen would have taken place without pressure from civil society and the streets. G7 and G20 leaders will do nothing unless pushed from below. So it's essential to keep up the pressure, especially on matters such as implementing public disclosure of company ownership and, crucially, of trusts."
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