Israel’s Parliament, the Knesset, defeated today two opposition motions to cancel a Treasury directive requiring banks to disclose the sums on deposit in accounts. The motions had been sponsored by the Liberal and Herut parties.
Finance Minister Levi Eshkol assured the House that the authority would be used only in cases of depositors who refuse to disclose their bank accounts to income tax assessors. He rejected charges that the directive infringed on the privacy of citizens, citing laws in the United States, Holland, Denmark and France which make it possible for governments to obtain the cooperation of banks in fighting tax frauds.
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