FC: Treasury Secretary Summers warns of tax havens; WH on crypto

[Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>]

[White House chief of staff John Podesta will be talking about encryption 
policy at 10 am at the National Press Club on Monday. According to a White 
House source, the topic will be the "need to address public safety and law 
enforcement needs." The White House also said Podesta will talk about 
updating "laws and practices in the face of changing technology, while 
protecting privacy and civil liberties." --Declan]



http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,37573,00.html

   Is Encryption Tax-Protective?
   by Declan McCullagh (declan () wired com)

   3:00 a.m. Jul. 15, 2000 PDT
   WASHINGTON -- It used to be FBI Director Louis Freeh who would rail
   against online anonymity and argue that Americans should not be
   allowed to use encryption software without backdoors.

   Now it's the U.S. Treasury Department -- home to the Secret Service,
   the IRS, and the Customs Service -- that's complaining.

   "Problems could arise from the increasing sophistication of Internet
   encryption codes that are established for valid reasons of commercial
   secrecy but can also be used to conceal relevant tax details from tax
   administrations," Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers said this week.

   "In such a world, it will be easier for companies to avoid tax
   collectors by operating worldwide through websites based in
   jurisdictions that are unwilling to share taxpayer information,"
   Summers told a gathering of international tax administrators in
   Washington.

   [...]

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