Bank secrecy towards tax authorities impedes effective exchange of information and may encourage tax avoidance. In April 2000, the Committee on Fiscal Affairs published a report, Improving Access to Bank Information for Tax Purposes, in which it encouraged members to:

• Prevent financial institutions from maintaining anonymous accounts and to require the identification of bank customers and beneficial owners of accounts.
• Re-examine any "domestic tax interest requirement" that prevents their tax authorities from obtaining and providing to a treaty partner information they are otherwise able to obtain for domestic tax purposes.
• Re-examine policies and practices that prevent access to bank information for purposes of exchange of information in tax cases involving intentional conduct which is subject to criminal tax prosecution.
• Take appropriate initiatives to achieve access to bank information for the verification of tax liabilities and other tax administrative purposes.

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