All articles for the topic: tax

Budget deficit, size of the public sector and majority voting

Jens Siebel (University of Siegen)

Introduction

Eurozone leaders have broadly welcomed new proposals for Greek reforms amid hopes a deal can be struck within days to stop Greece defaulting on its debt.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Greece's latest offer constituted "some progress". But she said more work was needed and "time is short".

Greece must repay a €1.6bn (£1.1bn) International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan by the end of the month.

If it fails to do so, it risks crashing out of the euro and possibly the EU.

Authorities in Brussels have charged HSBC's private banking arm, which is based in Switzerland, with helping wealthy Belgians to avoid taxes.

Prosecutors allege that hundreds of clients - including diamond dealers in Antwerp - moved money to offshore tax havens with the help of the bank.

They said it resulted in hundreds of millions of euros in lost tax revenue.

In August, HSBC warned that the penalties in relation to such allegations "could be significant".