We recently wrote about a new double tax agreement (DTA) signed on March 20th with Argentina. This is the latest in a series of worrying DTAs that Switzerland has been signing with countries from the Global South, despite the OECD Global Forum’s explicit criticism of Switzerland for signing only … [Read more...]
Blog
TJN response: the UK Law Commission and investment intermediaries
PRESS RELEASE The UK Law Commission consultation on the fiduciary duties of investment intermediaries: Response from the Tax Justice Network … [Read more...]
Links Mar 21
Luxembourg Signs Up to EU Savings-Tax Agreement, Ending Deadlock Bloomberg Bettel: “With Austria, Luxembourg can go ahead and give the green light for the EU savings directive”. See also: Austria, Luxembourg Accept EU Bank-Secrecy Law The Wall Street Journal - Bloc Promises to Push Switzerland, … [Read more...]
The March 2014 Taxcast: Russia, Ukraine, Londongrad
In the March 2014 Taxcast: Russia, Ukraine, Londongrad and the offshore threat to global security. Also, modern day colonialism? Niger battles France over fairer revenues for its uranium; it's official - inequality IS bad for economic growth: the IMF becomes an unlikely advocate for tax justice. And … [Read more...]
Ukraine’s dirty money: the Cambridge University connection
Update: the Daily Mail covers our story here. It seems that Britain’s Cambridge University hasn’t learned anything from the London School of Economics (LSE). The LSE was red faced in 2011 when it was revealed that they had received millions from the Gadhafi regime. The scandal led to a … [Read more...]
Secrecy jurisdictions already aiming at loopholes in OECD project
We have been rather complimentary recently about the OECD's emerging project to deliver automatic information exchange globally. It contains many positive (and important elements), but we also noted some shortcomings. One of the loopholes we noted was: "It is increasingly easy for individuals to … [Read more...]
A small but telling victory in London’s offshore housing crisis
Guest blog by George Turner One to the most pronounced and damaging impacts of offshore finance in London is the housing crisis. In London a home is no longer a home, but an investment product. The offshore system allows questionable money from all over the world to be effectively laundered … [Read more...]
Links Mar 20
Havens set deadline for reporting investors’ tax details Financial Times (paywall) The British Virgin Islands, Liechtenstein and Jersey are among 44 countries that have set a deadline of September 2017 for reporting investors’ tax details to their home governments, under pioneer plans aimed at … [Read more...]
Putin, the U.S. and the City of London: The Much-Too-Special-Relationship
From the New York Times, an article by former Moscow mayoral candidate Alexey Navalny that begins with the words "As I write this, I am under house arrest." He argues: "Western nations could deliver a serious blow to the luxurious lifestyles enjoyed by the Kremlin’s cronies who shuttle between … [Read more...]
TJN launches new APP and a Take Action page
As you can see, the Tax Justice Network has recently set up a new website, which we hope you'll agree is an improvement on the old one. Now we have two more pieces of exciting news. … [Read more...]
Links Mar 19
US Virgin Islands Lures Businesses With Tax Breaks International Business Times "These generous tax breaks don’t render the Virgin Islands a corporate or offshore tax haven, like such well-known rivals as Bermuda or the Cayman Islands ... That’s because the Virgin Islands’ tax benefits are legally … [Read more...]
Guest blog: should Argentina sign a tax treaty with Switzerland?
Not long ago we published a Switzerland edition of our newsletter Tax Justice Focus, in which a contributor wrote: "Developing countries wanting OECD-type tax agreements with Switzerland risk being forced into tax concessions on Swiss foreign investments, in exchange for information sharing on tax … [Read more...]
UK government believes in country by country reporting. Or does it?
From an exchange in the UK parliament, via Tax Research, the UK Exchequer Secretary David Gauke: "A year or so ago I had a meeting at Euston tower with the HMRC [the UK tax authorities] officials who deal with transfer pricing matters. They said it would help them to have a relatively simple form … [Read more...]
New campaign: End Anonymous Companies
Top US senators urge extradition of Swiss bankers
From U.S. Senator Carl Levin: WASHINGTON – The bipartisan leadership of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations today urged the Department of Justice to seek extradition of Swiss residents whom the DOJ has charged with tax evasion offenses. … [Read more...]
