多國簽訂協議打擊跨國逃稅

BERLIN — Led by Europe’s five biggest economies, 51 nations on Wednesday signed what Germany’s finance minister hailed as a milestone in the fight against tax evasion — an agreement that commits them all to automatic exchange of tax information starting in 2017.

柏林——週三，以歐洲五大經濟體爲首的51個國家簽訂了一項協議，協議要求所有締約方從2017年開始，自動交流稅務信息。該協議被德國財政部長譽爲打擊逃稅的鬥爭中的一個里程碑。

The accord will end banking secrecy as it has been known for decades, the finance minister, Wolfgang Schäuble, told Germany’s Bild newspaper before the deal. It was an apparent bid by Mr. Schäuble to sell the effort as one way ordinary people might see the rich — individuals and corporations — brought to heel.

德國財長沃爾夫岡·朔伊布勒(Wolfgang Schäuble)在簽約儀式前告訴德國《圖片報》(Bild)，這個協議將結束數十年來所謂的銀行保密制度。朔伊布勒的這種說法似乎是在向公衆介紹，這一努力可以讓普通人看到，富裕的個人和企業將被迫就範。

The signing of the accord in Mr. Schäuble’s cavernous ministry, built for Hermann Goering under the Nazis, capped a two-day meeting of officials from most of the 123 nations that have joined the Global Forum, which evolved from an agreement by Germany and Britain two years ago to crack down on tax evasion and tax fraud.

簽約儀式在朔伊布勒掌管的德國財政部舉行。空闊的德國財政部本是納粹時期，爲赫爾曼·戈林(Hermann Goering)而建的。簽約儀式是一場爲期兩天的會議的最後環節。參加會議的官員，來自一個全球論壇的123個成員國中的大部分國家。這個論壇是從德國和英國兩年前爲打擊逃稅和稅務欺詐而簽署的一項協議演變而來的。

Notably absent Wednesday were Switzerland, known for the secrecy of its banking system, and the United States, which has preferred to pursue its own path in fighting international tax evasion.

值得注意的是，以銀行系統的保密性而著稱的瑞士，以及傾向於用自己的方式打擊國際逃稅行爲的美國，均未在週三出席。

George Osborne, the chancellor of the British Exchequer, joined other ministers on Wednesday in lauding the relative speed with which the agreement had been negotiated and signed. “Tax evasion is a scourge across the world,” he said. The accord “will reduce the places that tax evaders can hide their money.”

週三，英國財政大臣喬治·奧斯本(George Osborne)和其他財政官員，都對協議的談判簽署過程相對迅速地表示稱讚。“逃稅是全世界的一大難題，”他說。該協議“將減少逃稅者能隱匿財富的場所”。

A declaration unveiled at the signing ceremony said that “under the new global standard, a wide range of information will be exchanged on offshore accounts, including account balances and beneficial ownership.”

簽字儀式上發佈的一份宣言稱，“在新的全球標準之下，我們將交換有關離岸賬戶的廣泛信息，包括賬戶餘額和受益所有人。”

“The ability of tax evaders to hide is vanishing quickly,” it added. “Tax evaders have two choices — come forward, or be caught.”

“逃稅者很快就將無處藏身，”宣言接着說。“逃稅者有兩個選擇——要麼自首，要麼被抓。”

With Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Spain spearheading the effort, other signatories included Singapore, Liechtenstein and Luxembourg, several British territories, like the Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands and Gibraltar, as well as the Isle of Man, Guernsey and Jersey.

除了主導該行動的英國、法國、德國、意大利和西班牙，協議的其他簽字方包括，新加坡、列支敦士登、盧森堡，以及幾個英國屬地，如維京羣島、開曼羣島和直布羅陀，以及馬恩島、格恩西島和澤西島。

The Italian finance minister, Pier Carlo Padoan, said the agreement should signal that the international community is capable of cracking down on injustice. It is “a positive response on a global level to the global crisis,” he said.

意大利經濟部長皮耶爾·卡洛·帕多安(Pier Carlo Padoan)稱，該協議應該可以說明，國際社會有能力打擊不公正的現象。他說，這是“在全球層面對全球危機的積極迴應”。

Mr. Schäuble and other ministers said the Swiss were expected to join the ranks of the 51 “early adopters” within months. Switzerland is part of the Global Forum on Transparency and exchanges information for tax purposes, officials said. Forum members are supposed to introduce automatic exchange of taxpayer information from 2018.

朔伊布勒和其他一些國家的財長稱，預計瑞士將在幾個月內加入51個“先行者”的行列。官員們稱，瑞士是“稅務透明與信息交換全球論壇”(Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes)的成員。該論壇的成員將從2018年開始推行自動交換納稅人信息的做法。

Despite the United States’ absence from the gathering, Mr. Schäuble and others stressed that the Americans had been trailblazers — with the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, known as Fatca — even if Congress remains wary of international accords.

儘管美國沒有參加這次會議，朔伊布勒等人強調，美國一直是先驅——《海外賬戶納稅法案》(Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act)就是一個例子——儘管美國國會仍然對國際協議懷有警惕。

None of the ministers would estimate how many billions in otherwise unpaid taxes they might now expect to see.

各國部長都不願估計，自己期待有多少億美元的稅款會因爲這項協議失而復得。