On Monday morning, Minister of Finance Pierre Gramegna and Minister of Justice Sam Tanson addressed the respective Chamber commission about the recently published investigation:
RTL Today article: Government refutes claims made in international anti-money laundering investigationMP Laurent Mosar (CSV) believes that it is not accurate to call the Grand Duchy a tax haven, considering the high tax rates that Luxembourgish residents and businesses have to pay. He also acknowledged that individual companies are indeed able to benefit from "agreements of no double-taxation". However, he stressed that this was also the case in other countries, places such as the US State of Delaware, which Mosar referred to as being a veritable tax haven.
MP Roy Reding (ADR) noted that the risk for money laundering existed everywhere around the world, and that Luxembourg was not exempt from the threat of organised crime: "However, no other country in Europe is a rigorous as we are when it comes to supervision."
Some MPs also highlighted the fact that the piece of investigative journalism proved the country's level of transparency. LSAP leader Georges Engel underlined that the government continuously worked on the successful supervision of the financial sector, noting that the Chamber is set to vote on a new set of regulatory dispositions to combat money laundering schemes.
MP David Wagner (The Left) explained that with all due respect to the criticism, one should not state that the Grand Duchy's financial sector has made it its goal to attract organised criminals. He acknowledged however that Luxembourg's implementation of tax optimisation necessarily attracts a lot of interest from foreign parties, which always increases the danger of financial abuses.
