We are happy to report on some good news sent to us by Sigrid Klæboe Jacobsen, Director of Tax Justice Network - Norway. "Today, the Norwegian government today has pledged to introduce a "publicly available, digital registry for information on shareholders of companies". The Norwegian government … [Read more...]
Corporate Tax
Quote of the day: Elizabeth Warren
Regarding corporations paying their way, the trailblazing U.S. senator Elizabeth Warren: You built a factory out there? Good for you. But I want to be clear. You moved your goods to market on the roads the rest of us paid for. You hired workers the rest of us paid to educate. You were safe in your … [Read more...]
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 … [Read more...]
Another reason why corporations may want to be taxed properly
. . . via top-ranked U.S. tax professor Reuven Avi-Yonah, in a paper entitled Just Say No: Corporate Taxation and Social Responsibility. It is US-focused, but has wide relevance. This, in fact, can be seen as another justification of imposing tax on the corporation: Rather than bear any social … [Read more...]
Report: the black hole at the heart of London’s FTSE100
From Christian Aid, a press release: "The secrecy surrounding thousands of subsidiaries created in tax havens by leading UK companies has created a black hole at the heart of the FTSE100, a new Christian Aid report warns today. … [Read more...]
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 … [Read more...]
European voters: make tax dodging an election issue
From our friends at Eurodad: Eurodad … [Read more...]
Links May 9
World Bank’s content-free report shows need for a rethink of its policy on tax havens Eurodad See also: CSO letter to IFC calls for immediate review of policy on tax havens … [Read more...]
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 … [Read more...]
Why companies put together for tax reasons will be fragile
A while ago we explained how tax avoidance by multinational corporations is like refined sugar in the human body: empty financial calories with adverse long-term health effects. Now we have an article from Financial Times columnist John Gapper, who has looked at the tax-arbitrage nonsense … [Read more...]
Ethical shareholders call on Google to stop its tax abuses
The Domini Social Equity Fund and its partners have submitted a shareholder proposal to Google for its annual meeting on May 14th urging it to do something about its systematic tax abuses. We just blogged a petition in support of this proposal, which we'd urge readers to sign. The shareholder … [Read more...]
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”.' … [Read more...]
The Offshore Wrapper: a week in tax justice
The Offshore Wrapper is written by George Turner Switzerland-India Dispute Last week we reported that India is getting tough with Cyprus and Mauritius on tax. This week it is Switzerland’s turn to feel Indian ire. … [Read more...]
Caffe Nero: your unpaid taxes would have helped pay for my father’s hospital care
A couple of years ago poet Steve Pottinger penned this eloquent reaction to the anger he felt about Starbucks' corporate tax avoidance. In similar vein he's now sent the following letter to the management of Caffe Nero. … [Read more...]
Petition: Google, pay your taxes!
A petition, with over 100,000 signatures so far, begins like this. "Google isn’t paying its taxes. The multi-billion dollar corporation has been under scrutiny for shifting using shell companies in Bermuda, Ireland and elsewhere to shelter at least $33 billion of revenue. … [Read more...]
