A Messi affair The ongoing tax affair with the world’s top footballer Lionel Messi rolls on. Two weeks ago the Tax Justice Network Germany reported that a Barcelona court had confirmed proceedings against Lionel Messi for tax evasion. He is accused of using a series of shell companies based in … [Read more...]
Tax Treaties
On why being tough on unproven claims is both smart and right
We always appreciate the opportunity to discuss our research work since constructive criticism allows us to improve and clarify our views. This is the case with a couple of recent blogs by Mick Moore of the International Centre for Tax and Development (ICTD) on 18 July, one entitled “Tax Justice … [Read more...]
OECD continues to stand in the way of global tax reforms
The following guest blog was written by Renaud Fossard [1] The idea of ??a political space in international tax issue discussions in the framework of the United Nations is still being blocked by the OECD. Though not much interest has been seen from developing countries either, its implementation … [Read more...]
How developing countries can take control over their tax destinies
Krishen Mehta, a Senior Adviser to TJN, has written a short document with ten pointers offering ways that developing countries can take control over their tax destinies. We reproduce the introduction of his article below: please click on the full article for the ten points. We hope to produce more … [Read more...]
IMF: tax havens cause poverty, particularly in developing countries
The IMF has a major new Policy Paper out entitled Spillovers in International Taxation, looking at the effects that one country’s tax rules and practices can have on others. Of course this is a Staff Report and the IMF would never be so rude to some of its most powerful member states as to … [Read more...]
New Germany-UK tax treaty undermines OECD tax reforms
A little-noticed new protocol to the Germany-UK tax treaty needs dragging into the daylight, since it appears to be a sneaky effort to undermine reforms by the OECD, the club of rich countries that oversees the international tax system. … [Read more...]
The Offshore Wrapper: A week in Tax Justice
The Offshore Wrapper is written by George Turner "In Formula One, everyone cheats. The trick is not to get caught." … [Read more...]
Publicis and Omnicom: a merger driven by tax abuse?
Reuters is carrying a fascinating story with a less than fascinating headline: "Push for tax-avoidance curbs in G-20 threatens Publicis-Omnicom deal." Last July Paris-based Publicis and New York-headquartered Omnicom announced plans to merge to create the world's biggest advertising group, which … [Read more...]
Swiss tax treaty policy thwarts new era of automatic information exchange
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...]
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...]
Foreign investment – smaller than you might believe
From Jesse Griffiths, Eurodad, with permission. Foreign investment – much smaller than you might believe You may have seen that foreign direct investment (FDI) was judged last month to have finally regained pre-crisis levels, and that a record percentage of all FDI – 52% - went to developing … [Read more...]
New TJN briefing: OECD’s BEPS project for developing countries
TJN is pleased to publish a new briefing paper looking at the implications for developing countries of the OECD's widely referenced Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) project, which is designed to find ways to tackle the deficiencies in the international tax system. It is available in English … [Read more...]
Links Feb 6
Global version of FATCA could be a reality in a few years, say industry officials Thomson Reuters / Compliance Complete See also: No more delays for FATCA, says IRS STEP Greek-Swiss tax deal remains elusive Reuters Is Switzerland retreating on Rubik? … [Read more...]
Swiss double tax agreements disadvantage poorer countries
Our attention has been drawn to a fascinating new report (sadly, in German only, an English language summary is here) on Switzerland’s double tax agreements (DTAs) with developing countries. Interestingly, although the report was produced by researchers from the renowned World Trade Institute at … [Read more...]
OECD: special tax rules for internet cos ‘unviable’
Internet companies are running rings around our governments, free-riding on the backs of ordinary taxpayers and reaping large fortunes for relatively small numbers of well-connected insiders, some of them rich enough to buy entire global newspapers with their pocket change, and thus potentially … [Read more...]
