Switzerland unveils draft laws to dismantle bank secrecy Financial Times (paywall) "The Swiss government has taken a further step towards dismantling its once untouchable bank secrecy laws, by unveiling draft legislation that would pave the way for automatic information exchange about offshore … [Read more...]
Secrecy
Links Jan 14
Tax evasion/Luxembourg leaks: EU Parliament inquiry committee gains cross-political support and must be swiftly put in place The Greens / European Free Alliance in the European Parliament See also: MEPs urge Schulz to set up inquiry committee on tax evasion EurActiv Credit Suisse to Face Nader … [Read more...]
Slovak govt. to enact new anti-shell company law after scandal
A guest blog by Miroslav Beblavy, Member of Slovak Parliament for the opposition party Sie?, (who has been involved in drafting the legislation) and Silvia Hudackova, assistant to Miroslav Beblavy. Slovak government committed to enact new anti-shell law after the healthcare procurement … [Read more...]
Links Jan 13
OECD Global Forum agrees to Luxembourg transparency review Luxemburger Wort Billions of rands leave South Africa under the radar Times Live FDI inflows: Who is investing in India and in what sectors? Financial Express "While Singapore and Mauritius have swapped places as top investors in … [Read more...]
Links Jan 12
WikiLeaks Banker Called Traitor as Prosecutor Seeks Jail Bloomberg See also recent blogs Tax haven whistleblowers: where are the human rights organisations? and Show trial of Swiss whistleblower Elmer now in 9th year Luxleaks: Parliament could still set up a committee of inquiry euranet … [Read more...]
Links Jan 8
Public consultation rejects beneficial ownership registry Cayman Compass Where have all the tax avoiders gone? Mike Lewis' blog An overview of the state of the tax avoidance debate Scale and Consequences of Capital Flight from Africa The Real News $2 lost for every $1 gained: the single … [Read more...]
Links Jan 7
LuxLeaks Scandal Reveals International “Race to the Bottom” Economy Watch LuxLeaks informant faces up to 10-years in prison Luxemburger Wort See also article linked yesterday: World unites to decry prosecution of source behind LuxLeaks tax scandal The Guardian, and the open letter to Luxembourg … [Read more...]
The New Year Wrapper
Ahmadinejad: “he was my driver” The Mafia Capitale scandal has been gripping Italy over the last few months. It involves the corrupt award of public sector contracts in Rome to a network of people associated with extreme right-wing and neo-fascist movements. … [Read more...]
Links Jan 6
World unites to decry prosecution of source behind LuxLeaks tax scandal The Guardian See also the open letter to Luxembourg prosecutors: LuxLeaks tax source should not be charged LuxLeaks: An opportunity? euobserver Poorer Countries Lose More from Corporate Profit-Shifting The Center for … [Read more...]
Links Dec 19
Capital flight: CEFID-AR publishes "The enablers and their ways of working" via Red de Justicia Fiscal de América Latina y el Caribe (In Spanish) Hat tip: Jorge Gaggero Editorial: Stem Capital Flight The Himalayan Times Widening of EU tax probe takes heat off Ireland Irish Examiner … [Read more...]
Links Dec 18
EU cracks down on anonymous company ownership, but falls short of full transparency Global Witness UK: Criminal penalty omitted from tax evasion clampdown Financial Times (paywall) Canada: New anti-corruption measure for oil, gas and mining companies passes into law amidst cautions from civil … [Read more...]
On the Capture of Luxembourg by Big Accountancy Firms
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...]
Links Dec 17
The unlearned lesson of LuxLeaks EU Observer #Luxleaks: The Reality of Tax ‘Competition’ Center for Global Development See also recent blog On so-called “tax competition” States keen to protect identity of Europe's shadow rich EU Observer See also earlier blog EU compromise on shell company … [Read more...]
EU compromise on shell company regulation is improvement but falls short
From the Financial Transparency Coalition, of which TJN is a member: EU compromise tightens regulation on shell companies, but without public access, many still in the dark EU nations agree to national registers of company ownership information, but deal on 4th Anti-Money Laundering Directive … [Read more...]
Bogus US shell cos, inc. “Are you hiding from the law?” she chuckled
We recently pointed to a fascinating article by U.S. journalist Ken Silverstein about Mossack Fonseca, a particularly troubling ask-no-questions offshore incorporations firm based in Panama, with offices in many of our favourite offshore jurisdictions: the Bahamas, Cyprus, Hong Kong, Switzerland, … [Read more...]
