May 26: Updated with new details from the Sydney Morning Herald This concerns a meeting in Tokyo, hosted by the Australian Treasury, to discuss the G20's tax agenda. This involves not just the OECD's "BEPS" project to reform the international rules for taxing multinational corporations, but also … [Read more...]
Secrecy
Links May 20
DoJ Does Victory Lap on Credit Suisse Guilty Plea on Single Criminal Charge naked capitalism Very important insights. See also Credit Suisse escapes worst as it pleads guilty to U.S. charges Reuters - New York regulator decides not to revoke the bank's license, and top management stay in place, … [Read more...]
The Offshore Wrapper: a week in tax justice
The Offshore Wrapper is written by George Turner Credit Swindle? "We were running a criminal enterprise, but we didn't know," is what reportedly Credit Suisse will soon admit in its long running dispute with the United States Justice Department over alleged involvement in assisting US … [Read more...]
Links May 19
Joining the Club: The United States Signs Up for Reciprocal Tax Cooperation Center for Global Development New Zealand: the Shell Company Incorporation Franchises (II) (and Ukraine) naked capitalism … [Read more...]
Links May 15
Companies fear BEPS “tax chaos” Economia See also: Global business tax clamp-down could sting U.S. -IRS official Reuters - Is the U.S. undermining the interests of developing countries? See TJN Briefing on BEPS here and information on The BEPS Monitoring Group here. … [Read more...]
Norway pledges to introduce public registry on company ownership
We are happy to report on some good news sent to us by Sigrid Klæboe Jacobsen, Director of Tax Justice Network - Norway. "Today, the Norwegian government today has pledged to introduce a "publicly available, digital registry for information on shareholders of companies". The Norwegian government … [Read more...]
Links May 13
U.S. Congress Moves To Strengthen US Anti-Inversion Rules Tax-News See also: Want Ad: 'Foreign Corporate Spouses Needed For U.S. Companies, Preferably From Low Tax Country' Forbes, and A Deal to Dodge the Tax Man in America Dealb%k Countries slow race to bottom on tax competition Financial … [Read more...]
Report: the black hole at the heart of London’s FTSE100
From Christian Aid, a press release: "The secrecy surrounding thousands of subsidiaries created in tax havens by leading UK companies has created a black hole at the heart of the FTSE100, a new Christian Aid report warns today. … [Read more...]
Links May 12
Asian logging companies 'use British islands for tax dodging' The Guardian "Calls for crackdown as investigation finds huge Indonesian corporations evading tax through network of secret shell companies in British Virgin Islands and other tax havens." New Zealand: the Shell Company Incorporation … [Read more...]
Links May 9
World Bank’s content-free report shows need for a rethink of its policy on tax havens Eurodad See also: CSO letter to IFC calls for immediate review of policy on tax havens … [Read more...]
Links May 8
OECD: Countries commit to automatic exchange of information in tax matters The OECD's press release states "Bank secrecy for tax purposes is coming to an end". Sounds good, but is rather over-optimistic at this point. For TJN's views and briefings on information exchange see here. Kenya: Lobby … [Read more...]
Links May 6
G20 to talk tax in Tokyo The Australian Swiss banks follow the money to Panama swissinfo Swiss bankers might have been motivated to come to Panama because it’s “where they believe they can better protect the confidentiality of their clients”.' … [Read more...]
The Offshore Wrapper: a week in tax justice
The Offshore Wrapper is written by George Turner Switzerland-India Dispute Last week we reported that India is getting tough with Cyprus and Mauritius on tax. This week it is Switzerland’s turn to feel Indian ire. … [Read more...]
Links May 2
The political capture of rich countries in the fight against tax havens Oxfam France (In French) Ahead of the OECD's annual Forum in Paris, launch of a new report Arrangements Between Friends: Flaws in the OECD's Plan of Action Against Tax Havens India: Finance Minister Chidambaram warns … [Read more...]
Links May 1
Credit Suisse unit draws US tax scrutiny swissinfo "For years, Credit Suisse used a secondary Swiss banking brand, Clariden Leu, to woo clients who wanted a smaller, more personalised experience. Now, its decision to keep that little-noticed unit separate has become an issue in the long-running … [Read more...]
