V. RECOMMENDATIONS

Similarly, with regard to the issue of the audience to which the disclosure is available, the 5th EU AMLD has been critiqued. It has been noted in section III.II that the EU Data Supervisor was critical of EU measures being introduced to curb tax fraud and money laundering, that citizens’ rights to privacy were being disregarded as measures were disproportionate and no longer attached to any suspicion of wrongdoing – instead applying it blanketed across the board – which increases the risk of data breaches and abuse. This critique has also been applied to the 5th AMLD, which the UK will implement, because it will open up the register to those with a ‘legitimate interest’ and this could include NGOs such as the Tax Justice Network or journalists. It is also criticised because there is no mention in the Directive that those who obtain this confidential information are themselves obliged to maintain confidentiality.268 This is because the Directive states that access should be ‘at least’ given to those who ‘demonstrated previous relevant activities related to the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing' [emphasis added]. There is a risk that transparency is being pursued for transparency’s sake, and that the rights to privacy are being disproportionately affected, in the noble pursuit of reducing tax fraud. But any measure aimed at a good end must still be proportionate and effective, and this is not the case with the EU 5th AMLD.

The UK, as noted above, has been a leader in the field of tax transparency domestically, and has pushed for it throughout its CDs and OTs. It must ensure further measures, particularly post-Brexit, remain effective and proportionate.

On the basis of the above analysis, the following recommendations are made for a British strategy to combat tax evasion. The paper first justified why any strategy ought to be multilateral by highlighting the limits of FATCA. It now lays out a series of recommendations for both multilateral and domestic strategies for the UK government to pursue. The

268 David Russell and Toby Graham, ‘Maintaining the Rage: the EU’s Attack on Trusts at Home and Abroad’ (2017) 23(2) Trusts and Trustees 145.