It's all so tiresome and predictable. This blog focuses on the UK, but it could apply to any oil and gas producing country. The Guardian has a headline that is more to the point: Oil industry calls for North Sea tax cuts. Meanwhile, the lobbying arm of the British financial services industry … [Read more...]
Archives for 2015
Links – Jan 16
Company beneficial ownership register to open in April 2016 STEP New UK corporate transparency measures allow applications for anonymity. See also: UK: Implementation of Company filing requirements and corporate transparency measures and the register of people with significant control ("PSC … [Read more...]
Will Antoine Deltour become a prisoner of conscience?
So the latest big tax haven whistleblower, Antoine Deltour, is facing the combined massed might of Luxembourg, one of the world's biggest and most aggressive tax havens, and the Big Four accounting firm PWC, one of the biggest and most aggressive lobbyists for offshore tax and secrecy … [Read more...]
Is a financial sector like an oil industry? That graph, again
There's been a bit of pushback (of course) to our Finance Curse analysis, which some people think is just an empty slogan. It isn't. Our basic proposition is that hosting a large financial services industry can be like hosting an oil industry: there are many penalties associated with doing so, … [Read more...]
Tax wars: Europe lands blow against Amazon
From Bloomberg: "The European Union said Luxembourg hastily approved a “cosmetic” tax deal with Amazon.com Inc. in 11 days, allowing the company to shift profits to a tax-free unit. The EU told Luxembourg officials in a letter that the deal, based on a “cosmetic arrangement,” gives the Internet … [Read more...]
Links Jan 15
Switzerland unveils draft laws to dismantle bank secrecy Financial Times (paywall) "The Swiss government has taken a further step towards dismantling its once untouchable bank secrecy laws, by unveiling draft legislation that would pave the way for automatic information exchange about offshore … [Read more...]
Quote 2 of the day – Big Banks, Credit Suisse, and financial crime
A second quote of the day, from U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren, following our quote from Switzerland earlier: "If large financial institutions can break the law and accumulate millions in profits, and if they get caught, settle by paying out of those profits, they do not have much incentive to … [Read more...]
Quote of the day: Swiss Franc
The value of the Swiss Franc exploded upwards this morning, after the Swiss National Bank (SNB) removed its fairly longstanding 1:1.2 peg against the Euro (that is, 1.2 Swiss Francs per Euro.) That is an astonishing currency move. Our quote of the day comes from Nicolas Hayek, the chief executive of … [Read more...]
Links Jan 14
Tax evasion/Luxembourg leaks: EU Parliament inquiry committee gains cross-political support and must be swiftly put in place The Greens / European Free Alliance in the European Parliament See also: MEPs urge Schulz to set up inquiry committee on tax evasion EurActiv Credit Suisse to Face Nader … [Read more...]
Report: every U.S. state taxes its poorest at much higher rates than top 1%
From the U.S. Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP), the 5th edition of Who Pays, its signature report that examines tax systems in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Now get the highlights: Every state tax system (Washington D.C. excepted) taxes its poorest residents at … [Read more...]
Quote of the day: offices of UK tax tribunal owned offshore
The quote of the day is from the British investigative and satirical magazine Private Eye: "Buildings occupied by the Ministry of Justice, including Britain’s tax tribunal, are – almost unbelievably – owned offshore in a Mediterranean tax haven, while the attorney-general works from a London … [Read more...]
Slovak govt. to enact new anti-shell company law after scandal
A guest blog by Miroslav Beblavy, Member of Slovak Parliament for the opposition party Sie?, (who has been involved in drafting the legislation) and Silvia Hudackova, assistant to Miroslav Beblavy. Slovak government committed to enact new anti-shell law after the healthcare procurement … [Read more...]
Links Jan 13
OECD Global Forum agrees to Luxembourg transparency review Luxemburger Wort Billions of rands leave South Africa under the radar Times Live FDI inflows: Who is investing in India and in what sectors? Financial Express "While Singapore and Mauritius have swapped places as top investors in … [Read more...]
Links Jan 12
WikiLeaks Banker Called Traitor as Prosecutor Seeks Jail Bloomberg See also recent blogs Tax haven whistleblowers: where are the human rights organisations? and Show trial of Swiss whistleblower Elmer now in 9th year Luxleaks: Parliament could still set up a committee of inquiry euranet … [Read more...]
The Offshore Wrapper: a week in tax justice #46
HSBC: the world’s local naughtiest bank? The Lagarde list, a leaked document containing the names of thousands of people with secret bank accounts at HSBC Switzerland, continues to cause problems for the global banking giant. … [Read more...]
