We've linked to Finance Uncovered on several occasions -- not least this week -- but never as comprehensively as this. From the Byline website, a proper introduction, which nicely illustrates our operating model. Introducing Finance Uncovered Global finance has no borders – neither do we. … [Read more...]
Finance Sector
Links Oct 13
Facebook tax bill highlights Osborne’s ‘diverted profits’ levy Financial Times (paywall) Cites TJN's research director @alexcobham: “it is simply not credible that Facebook is unprofitable in one of its more mature and active markets such as the UK. Examples like this simply serve as a reminder as … [Read more...]
Links 12 Oct
Tax avoidance fuels global inequality CNN Opinion piece by Joseph Stiglitz. Tax reforms are small beer when big firms are denying poor countries billions The Guardian See also our recent press release: OECD’s BEPS proposals will not be the end of tax avoidance by multinationals India: … [Read more...]
Finance Uncovered: how Africa’s biggest cell phone firm shifts billions offshore
From Finance Uncovered, a TJN-founded project, a press release about a story that is (among other things) front page of South Africa's influential Mail & Guardian newspaper. Finance Uncovered reveals how Africa’s biggest cell phone firm shifts billions offshore The Finance Uncovered global … [Read more...]
Links Oct 8
Why India should defend this whistleblower from the Swiss justice system Scroll.in "Hervé Falciani, who exposed the global offshore industry with the HSBC data leak, is facing prosecution under skewed Swiss laws for data theft and espionage." See also: Guest blog: how Switzerland corrupted its … [Read more...]
How 1/8th of Moldova’s GDP vanished, via a Scottish council flat
From the BBC: "The UK is one of the easiest countries in the world to set up a company in, and some agents offer to do it in an hour, for as little as £25." In standard parlance, this makes the UK an 'efficient' place to set up a company, reassuringly free of that pesky 'red tape.' All good stuff. … [Read more...]
Links Oct 7
Dirty Money UK BBC Radio 4 More taxes will help fight inequality: economist BusinessTech Piketty "promotes wealth redistribution as key to development". See also Piketty's address to the 2015 Nelson Mandela Annual Lecture EU agrees greater transparency on tax deals after LuxLeaks scandal … [Read more...]
Links Oct 6
Turkey: AKP should see taxation as a tool for development, not punishment Hurriyet Interview with Leyla Ate?, a member of the BEPS Monitoring Group (BMG) The Rise of Europe’s Unlikeliest Tax Haven Ozy Cites TJN'S Nicholas Shaxson, author of Treasure Islands: Tax Havens and the Men who Stole … [Read more...]
Belize and the curious tale of the British lord
Britons have been titillating themselves recently with some sordid but quite likely untrue allegations made against UK Prime Minister David Cameron by Lord Michael Ashcroft (whom in making the allegations may have been motivated by pique or revenge.) We won't dignify these allegations by … [Read more...]
Dear Ambassador, the Bahamas is most definitely a tax haven
Update: condolences to those in the Bahamas who have suffered from Hurricane Joaquin which hit the islands on Saturday. We should add that those who have probably suffered most from the devastation have nothing to do with the Bahamas' offshore financial industry. The Bahamas' Ambassador to … [Read more...]
Christian Aid: new Swissleaks analysis shows harm to developing countries
An important new analysis from Christian Aid. Note the pull-out quote highlighting the problems with the OECD's Common Reporting Standard, or CRS. September 30 2015 NEW SWISSLEAKS ANALYSIS REVEALS HOW TAX HAVEN SECRECY HARMS DEVELOPING COUNTRIES New, detailed examination of the SwissLeaks files … [Read more...]
Links Sep 24
Why dirty money still plagues Switzerland swissinfo “The problems arise only from the moment the PEP becomes a persona non grata in the eyes of the Swiss government or other international organisations.” Why the German tax authority is protecting Apple Zeit (In German) By TJN's Markus … [Read more...]
Links Sep 23
Finance ministers call for minimum EU tax rate Politico Australia: Tax office did not go to police over fears wealthy would be kidnapped – inquiry The Guardian See also: Do you want Australia's megarich to be kidnapped? Do you? Then let them hide their tax First Dog on the Moon via The … [Read more...]
Links Sep 21
Singapore Urges Need For Tax Competition After BEPS Tax-News But tax competition, or rather tax wars, are harmful, see the Fools' Gold blog on What is (tax) competitiveness? Hunt for Tax Cheats Leads U.S. Government to Banks in Belize Bloomberg Apple Inc., Amazon See Mounting Tax … [Read more...]
Why a ‘competitive’ economy means less competition
From the Fools' Gold site: The 'competitiveness' of a country can be taken to mean many things. Many people, such as Martin Wolf or Paul Krugman, have argued forcefully that it is a meaningless or dangerous concept. On another level it's a question of language: you can make national … [Read more...]
