December 15, 2010, 5:07 PM EST

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-12-15/uruguay-s-congress-backs-stronger-tax-evasion-laundering-laws.html

Dec. 15 (Bloomberg) -- Uruguay’s lower house approved legislation already backed by the Senate to change the country’s bank secrecy laws in cases of suspected tax evasion or money laundering and to begin taxing income on investments abroad.

Under the bill passed today and supported by the ruling Frente Amplio party, the director of the tax agency will have the authority to request that bank secrecy protections be lifted when there is evidence of fraud or when requested to do so by a foreign government that has an established treaty with Uruguay. The bill, which must be enacted by President Jose Mujica, would also place a 12 percent tax on income from deposits, stocks, bonds and other investments held by Uruguayans abroad.

The law comes after Uruguay appeared in 2009 on a list of so-called tax havens compiled by the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development as a country that wasn’t “committed to internationally agreed tax standards.” Then-Finance Minister Alvaro Garcia sent a letter to OECD Secretary General Angel Gurria pledging to adopt OECD standards on transparency and the exchange of tax information.

On Aug. 18, the OECD included Uruguay on a so-called grey list of countries that “have committed to implement the internationally agreed tax standards, but have not yet substantially implemented” them.