Austria assails UK banking secrecy

Austrian Finance Minister Maria Fekter has responded to British accusations of Austria being a tax haven by accusing Britain of the same thing. "We're not the problem, Britain, the island of the saints of tax evasion and money laundering is," said Fekter of the conservative People's Party (VP) to the newspaper "Die Presse" Michael Spindelegger. Spindelegger also said that Austria was not a tax haven, and that such statements annoyed him. Fekter, who is a staunch advocator of holding on to Austria's controversial bank confidentiality, said that the exchange of data with other EU countries or with the US could not be "one-way streets." "Delaware and Nevada (US states, ed.) are both tax havens and a paradise for money laundering, and also need to be dried out," she said. She added that the end of anonymous cooperation - which was what was being demanded of Cyprus - should also be demanded of Britain. "Presse" pointed out that by demanding the elimination of tax havens, Fekter was willfully making an agreement between Austria and the EU more difficult.