UPDATE: TJN is among a host of signatories to a letter (published here) calling on the Luxembourg authorities to refrain from prosecuting whistleblower Antoine Deltour. In the letter we note that even the Luxembourg government has publicly recognised that the information revealed by M Deltour has … [Read more...]
Corruption
Juncker fails to endorse demands for public registries of ownership
From the blog of the Bureau of Investigative Journalism: Jean-Claude Juncker appears to have distanced himself from making registers setting out the true owners of companies and other legal entities accessible to journalists and NGOs. The EU Commission president’s carefully worded position is … [Read more...]
Tax haven whistleblowers: where are the human rights organisations?
Update: here's another whistleblower victim of tax haven practices for human rights organisations to help defend. Antoine Deltour, of Luxleaks fame. We are big fans of human rights organisations, generally speaking, but we're going to say some uncomfortable things about some of them … [Read more...]
Luxembourg Leaks 2: Koch Industries, Disney, Skype edition
So the next round of Luxleaks is with us. Corporate tax avoidance, as the chair of the UK's Public Accounts Committee put it, "on an industrial scale." We post an array of stories below, and will write more about this in due course. As it happens, Luxembourg is likely getting it in the neck … [Read more...]
Its OK to avoid tax – we give to charity, and other b****cks!
Now here's a tricky public relations issue for our times: how does a band like Take That rebuild its image after being exposed as serial tax avoiders? The Guardian's Lost in Showbiz grapples with the problem, in light of the weak apology tweeted by Take That's Gary Barlow: “I want to apologise to … [Read more...]
Vladimir Putin, the KGB and the British and Swiss tax havens
From the New York Review of Books, a look at a book called Putin’s Kleptocracy: Who Owns Russia, by Karen Dawisha. The review itself is fascinating, and for TJN this paragraph is particularly interesting: "Dawisha nevertheless argues that the KGB’s return to power begins not in 2000, when Putin … [Read more...]
Corruption behind closed doors
Here's an interesting new map of corruption and illicit financial flows. In this blog titled Is it time for a Different Look at Mapping Corruption, James Cohen, picks up on work by TJN, Global Witness, and Washington-based Global Financial Integrity, and suggests that the time is ripe for leading … [Read more...]
TJN’s monthly Taxcast – November 2014
Switzerland signs up for automatic info exchange. But there’s a catch
So we have this announcement from the OECD. "Switzerland has today become the 52nd jurisdiction to sign the Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement [MCAA], which will allow it to go forward with plans to activate automatic exchange of financial account information in tax matters with other … [Read more...]
Panama voices call it “Badge of Honor” to be called a tax haven
We recently blogged about Colombia's decision to blacklist Panama because of its hostile role as tax haven for all sorts of dirty, criminal and corrupt Colombian drugs money. We also noted that Panama had the temerity to be outraged. Now, from PanAm Post, something that really should stick in … [Read more...]
Tax haven Panama: it’s time for blacklists and sanctions now
Ten years ago Jeffrey Robinson published a book about tax havens called The Sink, where he quotes a U.S. Customs official as saying of Panama: "The country is filled with dishonest lawyers, dishonest bankers, dishonest company formation agents and dishonest companies registered there by those … [Read more...]
Argentina tax bureau gets Swiss data, while others skulk in shadows
This is a sight for sore eyes. Argentina, a country that has suffered more than most under the scourge of predatory Swiss banking practices (not to mention the banking practices of the UK, United States and others), is making a very public stand. The head of Argentina's tax bureau, Ricardo … [Read more...]
Anatomy of a tax haven: how the finance curse strikes Jersey
The investigative newspaper Médiapart, which is fast gaining a reputation in France for hard-hitting reporting, has a special report on Jersey, Britain's (and to a lesser extent France's) favourite tax haven. It is fascinating, not least because it explicitly references our work on the Finance … [Read more...]
Will the UN take serious action to stop the loss of trillions of dollars to tax abuse?
From Prof. Thomas Pogge: "Intense negotiations are going on at the United Nations about the formulation of the new sustainable development goals (SDGs) and the targets and indicators to be used for specification and measurement. Starting 11 September, the president of the general assembly will host … [Read more...]
Finally, financial crime begins to embarrass Delaware
In July we wrote a blog entitled Delaware corporate secrecy and crime: a long-awaited debate begins, with some welcome news about shifting attitudes in Delaware about its business of building state revenues by (among other things) welcoming international and U.S. criminal money. Now, an update. … [Read more...]
