The Liechtenstein Affair could be a watershed in the fight against tax evasion, organised crime and corruption. Germany is rallying support in Europe to crack down on tax havens and financial secrecy. News commentary headlines such as "Blockade the Tax Havens" capture a fast-changing mood. In the US, Democratic senators Barack Obama and Carl Levin, and Norm Coleman, a Republican senator, have sponsored the Stop Tax Haven Abuse Act. The expanding credit crisis has helped underline the dangers of a lack of trans-parency in international finance, poor regulation and insufficient

co-operation. Fighting tax haven abuses requires tackling all of these.