Election issues crystallise in Andorra:

 

31/01/09 – (Diari d’Andorra) The head of the Andorra for Change (ApC) political party, Prof. Eusebi Nomen, strongly criticized Mr. Albert Pintat’s overtures to discuss a bilateral Double Taxation Treaty with Spain. Prof. Nomen asserts that the current Government is late in making such moves so close to the end of the current parliament and that now, right before the general elections, is not the time to begin these discussions particularly since they have not been discussed in the General Council. 

He also asks Pintat to "explain to the citizens the contents of the new tax framework he has prepared for the country".  He asserts that it will be difficult trying to reach an agreement with another country to avoid double taxation because their demands are great:  "There must be income tax, a tax on corporate profits, another on income of non-residents and finally, an exchange of tax data"; right now, the Andorran system does not fulfil any of these conditions. 

The continued failure to fulfil the last condition was strongly supported by the powerful Andorran Banking Association (ABA) in a separate comment on the government’s flirtation with a double taxation treaty. The ABA have pointed out that before Andorra is obliged to change its privacy laws, the EU will have to level the playing pitch and abolish banking/ financial confidentiality throughout the European Community; indicating a continuation of the long and successful tradition of resistance to invasions of privacy in any part of an Andorran resident’s private life.

It will be interesting to see whether the people of Andorra agree to relinquish their constitutional guarantee of privacy. Indications are that a referendum on the point would not result in a change to the status quo.

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