The European Union yesterday finally agreed a bitterly-fought deal under which savings tax will be applied to non-resident accounts in all member states, potentially netting billions of euros.
Finance ministers meeting in Luxembourg approved the plan but postponed setting a date for implementation because of outstanding problems with Switzerland.
The new rules have already been criticised as inadequate because they only apply to tax-dodging individuals and not to companies or investment funds.
But the agreement was hailed by the British government, which has fought for years to prevent tax harmonisation, and in the end saw a deal based on the exchange of information.
