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The May 2014 Taxcast
In the Tax Justice Network’s May 2014 Taxcast: the Taxcast looks at privatisation and tax: what happens when public assets or services get into private hands? Also: Google’s challenged on its tax affairs by its own shareholders; will Congress block the US administration’s decision to agree to the G20’s global transparency standard? And whatever happened to the UK government’s ‘leadership’ on
Read the full article…Links May 23
US senators say more needs to be done after Credit Suisse conviction The Guardian See also: Credit Suisse Seen Keeping U.S. Bank License Bloomberg video – talks of the penalty being “political card playing”, in that Credit Suisse are seen to be punished but they are still continuing as a bank in the USA, Credit Suisse Sells $5 Billion of
Read the full article…Links May 22
Finnwatch report on tax responsibility of Finnish Pension Fund investments Report finds that Finnish pension funds tend to ignore global tax responsibility issues related to their investment activities. (Report in Finnish, with English language executive summary) Special Report: Under pressure, BVI fears big impact on financial services The BVI Beacon Cites a local practitioner: “The [B]VI may be able to
Read the full article…Links May 20
DoJ Does Victory Lap on Credit Suisse Guilty Plea on Single Criminal Charge naked capitalism Very important insights. See also Credit Suisse escapes worst as it pleads guilty to U.S. charges Reuters – New York regulator decides not to revoke the bank’s license, and top management stay in place, and Credit Suisse Clients Remain Secret as Bank to Help U.S.
Read the full article…Links May 19
Joining the Club: The United States Signs Up for Reciprocal Tax Cooperation Center for Global Development New Zealand: the Shell Company Incorporation Franchises (II) (and Ukraine) naked capitalism TweetShare
Listen to the Tax Justice Network on Resonance FM: a 1 hour Taxcast special radio show
If you missed it last week, you can hear it via the link below. Produced and presented as always by the Tax Justice Network’s @Naomi_Fowler this show focuses on the City of London’s role as a global
Read the full article…Links May 15
Companies fear BEPS “tax chaos” Economia See also: Global business tax clamp-down could sting U.S. -IRS official Reuters – Is the U.S. undermining the interests of developing countries? See TJN Briefing on BEPS here and information on The BEPS Monitoring Group here. TweetShare
Links May 13
U.S. Congress Moves To Strengthen US Anti-Inversion Rules Tax-News See also: Want Ad: ‘Foreign Corporate Spouses Needed For U.S. Companies, Preferably From Low Tax Country’ Forbes, and A Deal to Dodge the Tax Man in America Dealb%k Countries slow race to bottom on tax competition Financial Times (paywall) The term tax ‘competition’ a misnomer: nothing to do with competition –
Read the full article…Links May 12
Asian logging companies ‘use British islands for tax dodging’ The Guardian “Calls for crackdown as investigation finds huge Indonesian corporations evading tax through network of secret shell companies in British Virgin Islands and other tax havens.” New Zealand: the Shell Company Incorporation Franchises naked capitalism TweetShare
Links May 8
OECD: Countries commit to automatic exchange of information in tax matters The OECD’s press release states “Bank secrecy for tax purposes is coming to an end”. Sounds good, but is rather over-optimistic at this point. For TJN’s views and briefings on information exchange see here. Kenya: Lobby groups against double taxation pacts The Star TJN-Africa’s Dereje Alemayehu says: “Businesses persons
Read the full article…Links May 6
G20 to talk tax in Tokyo The Australian Swiss banks follow the money to Panama swissinfo Swiss bankers might have been motivated to come to Panama because it’s “where they believe they can better protect the confidentiality of their clients”.’ TweetShare
Links May 2
The political capture of rich countries in the fight against tax havens Oxfam France (In French) Ahead of the OECD’s annual Forum in Paris, launch of a new report Arrangements Between Friends: Flaws in the OECD’s Plan of Action Against Tax Havens India: Finance Minister Chidambaram warns Switzerland for concealing tax evasion info Business Today TweetShare
Links May 1
Credit Suisse unit draws US tax scrutiny swissinfo “For years, Credit Suisse used a secondary Swiss banking brand, Clariden Leu, to woo clients who wanted a smaller, more personalised experience. Now, its decision to keep that little-noticed unit separate has become an issue in the long-running United States tax evasion investigation.” See also: Credit Suisse executives clashed on tax probe
Read the full article…Links Apr 30
Credit Suisse, BNP Paribas U.S. Charges Said to Be Weighed Bloomberg Businessweek “Prosecuting the companies would break with a past practice of brokering settlements with large banks that are considered integral to the financial system.” See also: Two Giant Banks, Seen as Immune, Become Targets Dealb%k, The Rise of Corporate Impunity ProPublica, and Swiss Enabler to Plead Guilty in Credit Suisse
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