European Union to close tax havens

Brussels -- Finance ministers from the European Union have agreed to rewrite rules on savings tax in an effort to curtail tax havens, EU's tax commissioner said Friday.

Tax Commissioner Laszlo Kovacs the new rules would be sensitive to Germany's input in the wake of a tax fraud investigation that encompassed 1,400 people, 600 of them from Germany, the EU Observer reported.

The changes would improve communication between banks and "orient the commission in what way we can … formulate amendments of the directive to close the loopholes, Kovacs said.

Germany estimates it losses $46 billion a year in tax fraud each year, the report said.

Copyright 2008 by United Press International.