A bill being debated in Brussels would force UK citizens to disclose 'reams'
of private, financial information on a public register
By
Richard Dyson: New legislation planned in Brussels is set to heap fresh costs and paperwork
on families’ financial planning, as well as leaving their affairs open to
unwanted public scrutiny.
A European law is being drafted whose original aim was to prevent corporate
money-laundering. The objective, supported by the UK, was to force companies
to disclose on a register the money and other assets held inside trusts or
equivalent legal arrangements.
But officials in Brussels have widened out the proposals as the bill has
evolved, to include trusts. The effect could be to force millions of
families to compile elaborate accounts of their assets and financial
arrangements including insurance policies, property and bequests made in
their wills, for entry into a register. And that register, if legislators
get their way, could be made available to any member of the public.