Europe targets Switzerland in fight against bank secrecy

By John O'Donnell and Martin Santa BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Europe edged closer to lifting banking secrecy on Wednesday after Austria said it was ready to share data on foreign depositors but Vienna's support could fade should efforts to strike a similar deal with Switzerland fail. Austria's dropping of objections allowed EU leaders to commit to an exchange of bank information between countries by the end of the year, as cash-strapped states seek to stop tax evasion and close loopholes highlighted by Apple Inc's use of a base in Ireland. ...

via Tech News Headlines - Yahoo! News http://news.yahoo.com/europe-closes-tax-havens-austria-agrees-swap-bank-121649297.html