New amnesty terms offered to Antwerp diamond traders

Five hundred Antwerp diamond traders whose secret Swiss HSBC bank accounts were discovered have received a final proposal to regularise the situation, reports De Tijd. If they accept the proposal, it may represent a windfall of more than €300 million for the Treasury. Thierry Afschrift, counsel for the diamond traders, confirmed the proposal made by the Special Tax Inspectorate (ISI), under which the traders should pay tax of about 35% of the totals in the accounts. The percentage is much lower than that already offered by the ISI and is consistent with the tax amnesty plan implemented by the government. Traders who accept the latest proposal shouldn’t have too much to fear from the Antwerp judicial authorities. Afschrift, however, will advise clients not to decline this latest proposal: “The data is from 2005, when they were stolen at HSBC. All taxes are prescribed. Finally, 35% is a high percentage and the IRS has no evidence that the bank statements released are correct.”