Best of the Web: Quick deal in UBS tax row

Investors bet on Thursday the United States would not go as far as shutting down UBS in a dispute over tax, instead expecting the Swiss bank to be hit by a hefty fine as part of a swift out-of-court settlement, Reuters reports.

Shares in UBS were higher midmorning after a U.S. judge late on Wednesday ordered the U.S. government to say if it was prepared to seize the bank's assets in the United States, and were roughly in line with the European bank sector. Full story...

THE TRADITION OF the wealthy keeping their cash at arm's length from tax authorities by finding a secretive offshore home could be set to end if new proposals for openness are agreed by world governments, says The Independent.

The move could mean each person in Britain being more than £700 better off each year.

If the UK prevented residents from lodging money in tax havens, it would save each man, woman and child £300 a year, according to figures produced by chartered accountant tax specialist Richard Murphy along with the TUC.

If the UK also stopped tax-avoidance and planning schemes, that would save another £415 per head annually. That means, instead of facing tax hikes over the next few years, some people could be taken out of taxation completely. Full story...

THE INDIAN GOVERNMENT is set to track the unaccounted wealth stashed away by Indians in tax havens, with the Budget proposing double-taxation, avoidance treaties, or a Tax Information Exchange Agreement, with what it describes as ‘non-sovereign' jurisdictions, says The Economic Times.

According to one estimate, over one trillion dollars (roughly the size the UK's GDP) may be lying in undisclosed, offshore bank accounts held by Indians.

Jersey, Isle of Man and Guernsey, which also falls in this category, are dependent on the British Crown. Full story...

ADMINISTRATORS WORKING on the winding up of Bermuda investment firm Emerald Financial Group are "hopeful" that many investors will get their money back, it has emerged.

According to The Royal Gazette, Bermuda Police arrested a 45-year-old woman last Thursday - reportedly the company's managing director Antoinette Bolden - in connection with the Fraud Unit's ongoing investigation into Emerald. Full story...

MINISTER OF FINANCE, Audley Shaw, has assured Parliament that Jamaica will not earn the reputation of a tax haven, when the proposed International Financial Centre (IFC) is established in downtown Kingston, The Jamaica Observer reports.

Addressing the House of Representatives this week, Shaw argued that a tax haven is a jurisdiction that does not have competitive tax base, and refuses to provide information to foreign tax authorities. Full story...