We just noted some surprising news about PwC's report for the European Commission endorsing Country by Country (CbC) reporting for banks. Yesterday we learned (h/t Catherine Olier) of some very public new support for CbC reporting from Jyrki Katainen, the European Parliament's Vice President … [Read more...]
Archives for 2014
Land Value Tax: back on the table in the UK
Land value taxation, an annual charge on the value of land, has been talked about for a very, very long time. In the UK it was proposed in the people’s budget of Lloyd George in 1909, and in the subsequent election campaign it became such a hot issue the governing liberal party made a song about it, … [Read more...]
Links Oct 7
ActionAid Says Mines Arm Twisting Zambia Over Tax Refunds allAfrica See also: ActionAid Accuses Glencore of Strong-Arm Tactics allAfrica Get ready for UK extractive industries disclosure rules The FCPA Blog Indian, Swiss tax authorities expected to meet over controversial 'HSBC list' The … [Read more...]
Developing countries and tax treaties: learning from mistakes
From Martin Hearson, whom we quoted recently on a related topic: "One big theme from the interviews I conducted on my recent African trip is that tax officials in developing countries are really starting to raise concerns about some of their tax treaties. This is particularly true of treaties with … [Read more...]
Tax Justice: A Christian (Presbyterian) Response to a New Gilded Age
Recommendations for the U.S. Presbyterian Church's 221st General Assembly (2014): It is a basic mark of a healthy social covenant that all share in the society’s benefits and burdens. Just taxation is a foundational part of a moral society’s answer to poverty and its close relatives, inequality, … [Read more...]
PWC report endorses country by country reporting for banks
From Euractiv, a statement that would have been unthinkable even just a couple of years ago: "Publishing turnover, staff numbers, taxes paid and subsidies received in every country banks operate in, could boost competitiveness, increase lending and bolster financial stability, the independent … [Read more...]
The Offshore Wrapper: a week in tax justice #33
Desperate times call for desperate accountants Ernst & Young is encouraging its corporate clients to lobby governments to water down ongoing reform of the international tax system. … [Read more...]
Links Oct 6
Asia-Pacific's developing nations raise low government revenue: United Nations The Economic Times Switzerland Gives France Documents on 300 UBS Customers International Business Times See also: UBS whistleblower criticises banking’s ‘code of silence’ swissinfo, UBS criticises Paris over tax … [Read more...]
Quote of the day: Apple
From U.S. Senator Carl Levin, on Apple's clash with the European Commission: "Its technological brilliance is dimmed by the financial engineering of its tax lawyers and executives who have stained Apple's reputation through tax dodging. Successful corporations don't only make money; they meet … [Read more...]
The UK’s “Patent Box” – nasty, disingenuous and hypocritical tax law
On September 26th David Quentin, a TJN Senior Adviser, wrote a blog entitled The UK’s “Patent Box” - a really nasty, disingenuous and hypocritical piece of tax law. Now an article based on this, co-authored by TJN writer Nicholas Shaxson, has been published on Naked Capitalism, the widely read U.S. … [Read more...]
Links Oct 3
Eurodad - Tax and transparency fact-finding mission Mopani-Glencore claim to Zambia tax refund cannot be taken seriously Christian Aid 'Illegal state aid' and offshore 'sinners' in Euro tax probes The ICIJ Global Muckraker … [Read more...]
Links Oct 2
Australia: Business leaders to face parliamentary inquiry on tax avoidance The Sydney Morning Herald See also: Global crackdown on tax havens fails to sway Australian companies, Government warned that ATO not up to catching tax avoiders, and our earlier blog Third of Australia’s big corporations … [Read more...]
Links Oct 1
Taxing the digital economy is (going to be) an African issue Martin Hearson's Blog Andorra news: Tax haven secrets uncovered Financial Secrecy Media Monitor Crackdown on Apple in Ireland Opens Front on Tax Avoidance War Bloomberg See also: EU Takes Forward Irish Advance Tax Ruling Probe … [Read more...]
Mapping big corporations: the case of BP
From Open Oil: "With over 1000 affiliate companies, BP controls a complex network of corporate entities. OpenOil, in partnership with OpenCorporates, developed a network of BP’s subsidiaries that aims to shed light on the corporate structure of the oil multinational, active in more than 80 … [Read more...]
The Offshore Wrapper: a week in tax justice #33
America is haunted by phantoms An anonymous company is a brilliant way of hiding wealth and covering up all kinds of dodgy business. They are hugely popular in the more sophisticated circles of the criminal world. … [Read more...]
