Today's links focus first on media coverage of the Luxembourg tax leaks (as featured in blog posts earlier today), followed by news on other jurisdictions. Luxembourg tax leaks put pressure on G20 leaders to act on loopholes The Guardian EU to press Luxembourg over tax breaks amid fresh … [Read more...]
Archives for 2014
PWC and Luxembourg: no, this wasn’t ‘legal’ behaviour
From Prem Sikka, a quote from an article from June that provides essential context for those who would dismiss the explosive leaks and analysis from the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) on Luxembourg. The Big Four accountancy firm PWC has been exposed as having … [Read more...]
What Luxembourg’s tax haven business looks like
Following the huge Luxembourg Leaks story that's emerged this morning, we thought we'd post a little reminder of what the tax haven business in Luxembourg actually looks like. This short one-minute video, from the Treasure Islands website, was created in 2011. The offending Apple Itunes mail box … [Read more...]
Quote of the day – Luxembourg and the drugs trade
From a Guardian story about the ICIJ Luxembourg story that's broken today: "Asked recently if such a crackdown risked damaging the economy of Luxembourg, one senior figure closely involved in the G20 reform programme said: “I don’t care. It is like saying: ‘If you fight drugs there will be no … [Read more...]
Huge trove of information blasts hole in Luxembourg’s theatre of probity
From the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), a story we've been waiting for: "Capping a six-month investigation, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) and its media partners are publishing a secret cache of leaked tax documents and dozens of … [Read more...]
Links Nov 5
TJN-A and EATGN applaud Kenya government on decision to phase out tax incentives TJN-Africa See also our earlier blog Are Kenyan tax holidays over? Indian Government Loses Major Tax Case to Vodafone CorpWatch How black money finds its way out of India, and how it comes back as white The … [Read more...]
On the risk of listening to the promoters of tax schemes
From the UK's HM Revenue & Customs, via Tax Research, a UK-focused article that is relevant for all companies listening to the siren songs of the promoters of tax schemes: 10 things a tax avoidance scheme promoter won’t always tell you … [Read more...]
Denmark’s tax treaties: time for change
Tax treaties are international agreements between countries that share out taxing rights between countries when there's cross-border investment between them. The international tax treaty system is strongly based on models created by the OECD, a club of rich countries, and it shouldn't be a great … [Read more...]
Reports of the Death of Banking Secrecy Are Greatly Exaggerated
From Andres Knobel in the Huffington Post, a reminder that while the OECD is very good at declaring the end of banking secrecy, it does like to gloss over the small matter that this is very far from the truth: "Leading finance ministers met in Berlin last week to begin the process of adopting a … [Read more...]
Financing for whose development? DFIs and their support for companies that use tax havens
This blog first appeared on From Poverty to Power. By Mathieu Vervynckt, Policy & Research Analyst with the European Network on Debt and Development (Eurodad) The Third UN Conference on Financing for Development (FfD), set to take place in Addis Ababa next year, will be a crucial … [Read more...]
The Offshore Wrapper: a week in tax justice #38
Playing away The New York Daily News has run a gripping piece about Chuck Blazer, former head of the North and Central American Football Federation CONCAF, and former member of Fifa’s executive committee. … [Read more...]
ISLANDS (or how to play dirty and get away with it) – preview in Reading
South Street Arts Centre, Reading, England - Thursday 6 & Friday 7 November, 8pm Caroline Horton & Co with China Plate and the Bush Theatre present 2 special preview performances. "This is my world, I am the king, I make the rules and everyone else can f**k off. This is off-shore." … [Read more...]
Tax avoidance: so many people “talking out of their asset classes.”
We've just blogged a theological view of tax avoidance, in which we highlighted an excellent short, pithy blog by TJN Senior Adviser David Quentin with an equally excellent headline: People talking out of their asset classes. It's worth reading in full; we have decided on reflection that it's … [Read more...]
Argentina’s capital flight and transfer pricing: new report
A new report from Argentina's CEFID-AR looks into the evolution of Argentina's transfer pricing legislation. A short summary follows. From the dictatorship that began in 1976 and lasted until 1983, the OECD's so-called 'arm's length method' for tackling transfer pricing was explicitly … [Read more...]
“Good” companies may have to pay more tax than law requires, say theologians
From Christian Aid, a new report exploring morality and taxpaying. Its introduction notes: "Many developing nations are seriously affected by the way in which some multinational companies manipulate their profits to allow them to pay little or no tax in the countries in which they are operating. … [Read more...]
