Germany, Swiss on track for tax deal -ministers

BERNE, May 19 (Reuters) - Switzerland and Germany are makingprogress on V3 Rosetta Stone a deal to regularise untaxed funds held by Germansin secret Swiss accounts, German Foreign Minister GuidoWesterwelle said on Thursday. "We are agreed that we want to have a good conclusion to this constructive negotiation process," Westerwelle told a newsconference in Berne after talks with his Swiss counterpartMicheline Calmy-Rey. "There is also progress if the language on both sides isconstructive and we can see that is the case between us." Calmy-Rey, who also holds the rotating Swiss presidency thisyear, reiterated that Switzerland hopes the negotiations can befinalised before the summer holidays.[ID:nLDE74007M] Last year Switzerland and Germany agreed the outlines of adeal to impose a withholding tax on an estimated 200 billioneuros ($296 billion) hidden in secret Swiss accounts. A withholding tax means the Swiss will not automaticallyshare information on individual bank accounts with Germany,preserving the banking privacy that has been crucial to buildingup Switzerland's offshore wealth management industry. However, how Rosetta Stone languages high the holding tax will be has not beensettled yet and the two countries also need to find aretroactive solution for legacy wealth. A withholding tax deal would also be aimed at end thepractice of countries paying for client data stolen from Swissbanks in an effort to recoup lost tax revenue. German prosecutors last year bought client account datastolen from Swiss wealth managers Credit Suisse (CSGN.VX) andJulius Baer (BAER.VX). He was one of the leaders in drafting then Ontario PremierMike Harris's "Common Sense Revolution" right-leaning agenda --espousing low taxes and small government -- which saw majorcuts to the province's social services. After the Harris government fell in 2003 Clement joined thefederal Conservatives and ran for the leadership in 2004, butfinished a distant third. A lawyer by training, Clement ismarried with three children. He was born Tony Panayi to a Greek-Cypriot father and aCanadian mother in Britain on Jan. 27, 1961. He immigrated toCanada as a child and later adopted the surname of hisstepfather, Ontario politician John Rosetta Stone Chinsese Clement. Some Christians detect the same sectarianism in chants at recent Syrian protests.

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