Belgium, US sign tax evasion deal

The US and Belgium have made a deal to share bank account information to improve international compliance with tax rules.

Belgium has announced that it had reached an agreement with the United States on sharing bank account information as part of international efforts to crack down on tax evasion.

"This accord will ensure better respect for tax rules on an international basis," the Belgian finance ministry said.

The accord was negotiated to meet the requirements of the 2010 Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act which allows US banks to ask their oversees counterparts for account information about clients believed to owe US taxes.

Failing to honour such requests can result in large fines and more than 45 countries, including France, Germany and Italy, have signed up to FACTA.