In 2012 ActionAid published a report estimating that a huge new tax loophole deliberately created by the UK government - which it seems is bringing in precious little in terms of jobs or tax revenues - is also likely to cost developing countries some £4 billion (US$6 billion) a year. Ireland's … [Read more...]
Finance Sector
Quote of the day: the central question for the finance industry to answer
From The Economist magazine, in an article entitled Counting the Cost of Finance, which looks at a new paper by Guillaume Bazot of the Paris School of Economics, which complements U.S.-based research on finance to look at the situation in Europe. The paper finds, unsurprisingly, that the GDP share … [Read more...]
Links Jun 20
Why big time tax dodgers love Mr Juncker Private Eye See also recent blog Architect behind Eurozone’s biggest tax haven wants to be EC president EU closes tax loophole for multinational firms Reuters See also: Anti-Money Laundering: Commissioner Barnier welcomes progress in Council European … [Read more...]
Links Jun 19
G8 Has Yet To Live Up To Its Promises On Tax And Transparency Financial Transparency Coalition Blog Swiss Cabinet to examine tax deductible bank fines swissinfo … [Read more...]
Links Jun 18
The True Cost of Hidden Money - A Piketty Protégé’s Theory on Tax Havens The New York Times "What’s beyond question is that there is no economic, political or moral justification for tax evasion - it exists only because of the political influence that wealth buys. A society that fails to fight … [Read more...]
Big Bills: how our central banks nurture money launderers and kleptocrats
A question for our European readers. How many of you have ever spent or even seen a 500 Euro note? No, neither have we. Which is may seem odd, given that there are some 300 billion Euros' worth of these things out there, in circulation. Which raises the question: where are they all? … [Read more...]
Links Jun 17
Editorial - Corporations and their tax shell games: Time for a global crackdown Los Angeles Times Israel to tax Google and Facebook on profits i24 A lower rate of corporation tax – that’s what Japanese companies will get for not paying it The Independent … [Read more...]
London march: Join the new Tax Dodgers’ Alliance
From UK Uncut, a march planned for this Saturday (June 21): Come and join the newly formed 'Tax Dodgers Alliance'. Big businesses and the super wealthy are welcome. Bankers, lawyers, CEOs, new money, old money... What do we have in common? We're stinking rich & we don't want to share - our cash … [Read more...]
The Offshore Wrapper: a week in tax justice
The Offshore Wrapper is written by George Turner Football: a game of two halves - corruption and scandal The World Cup of scandal and corruption rolls on. This week Global Witness has exposed the role of the Brazilian Development Bank, Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social, in … [Read more...]
Insurance sector seeking to trick the OECD with giant secrecy loophole?
Update: with Gibraltar / Bermuda shenanigans. Last February the OECD, which has been mandated to set global financial transparency standards, presented a major report on a new global standard for transparency and to fight the scourge of tax evasion. We broadly welcomed the project, but noted … [Read more...]
Quote of the day: on corporate tax policy making
From Martin Hearson: “What my clients are concerned about,” said my friend, “is political interference in corporate tax policymaking.” I found this quite startling. Is it possible that businesses consider corporate tax policy to be a matter for private negotiations between them and the government, … [Read more...]
Links Jun 6
EU to Decide Next Week on Irish, Dutch Tax-Breaks Probe Bloomberg UK fails to block proceeds of corrupt Nigerian oil deal Global Witness See also: UK leads charge in some key battles against corruption – now others must follow Global Witness … [Read more...]
Links Jun 5
The World's Movement Toward Tax Transparency Bloomberg BNA Even the Weak Anti-Abuse Measures Contemplated by OECD Are Too Much for Republican Tax Writers Citizens for Tax Justice See also: Republicans Join Business in Warning on Global Tax Talks Bloomberg, and addressing spin in Developing … [Read more...]
Links Jun 4
Anonymous Shell Companies Are Part of the Problem, Too: Often Used to Inject Dark Money Into Campaigns FACT Coalition New Zealand: the Shell Company Incorporation Franchises (V) (and Panama and Switzerland) naked capitalism … [Read more...]
Links Jun 3
The BEPS Monitoring Group: Submission on Hybrid Mismatch Arrangements Mauritius agrees to treaty revision with India STEP See also: India and Mauritius to Begin Automatic Exchange of Tax-Related Information India Briefing … [Read more...]
