UK demands exemption from EU trust registry plan STEP The UK government has confirmed that it will oppose clauses in the EU's Fourth Money Laundering Directive that would force all trusts to identify their beneficiaries in publicly accessible registries. … [Read more...]
Secrecy
Links Apr 8
Getting the rules right - Interview with John Christensen, executive director, Tax Justice Network Cayman Financial Review … [Read more...]
Links Apr 3
Illicit capital flows are the elephant in the EU-Africa summit room EurActiv More Countries Agree to Help U.S. Crack Down on Tax Dodgers The Wall Street Journal See also: US Prepares To Enforce 45 FATCA Pacts Tax-News, U.S. gives foreign banks more time on anti-tax dodge law Reuters, and Leaked … [Read more...]
Links Apr 2
Cayman Islands’ government terminates Lord Blencathra’s lobbying contract The Bureau of Investigative Journalism See also: Lobbying row: Cayman Islands cut ties with Tory peer Lord Blencathra by mutual consent after revelations by The Independent … [Read more...]
Swiss secrecy allies falling by the wayside
Swissinfo is running a long article today which begins like this: "The decision by Luxembourg and Austria to automatically exchange tax data with other European Union countries has isolated Switzerland in the global crusade against banking secrecy, a Tax Justice Network (TJN) expert tells … [Read more...]
Links Mar 31
Lord Blencathra’s contract with Cayman Islands stated he would lobby MPs and Lords The Bureau of Investigative Journalism A senior UK politician who denied he had ever lobbied MPs and peers on behalf of a Caribbean tax haven had signed a £12,000 per month contract that stated he would do so. See … [Read more...]
New book: The Political Economy of Offshore Jurisdictions
This new book adds further insights into the political economy of offshore, raising questions about why offshore has been off-limits for serious political discussion for so many decades and opening up discussion around offshore secrecy. A welcome addition to the emerging debate. … [Read more...]
Links Mar 28
Measuring OECD Responses to Illicit Financial Flows from Developing Countries Report examines OECD's members progress in tackling money laundering and transnational financial crime. See also: Money laundering, bribery and tax evasion: how to freeze illicit flows The Guardian … [Read more...]
EU Savings Tax Directive moves forwards
Update: new details about how the EC sees the EUSTD meshing with other initiatives. We recently wrote that there were positive signs that the all-important Amendments to the European Union Savings Tax Directive was likely to be approved, in the face of long-standing intransigence by Luxembourg, … [Read more...]
Links Mar 21
Luxembourg Signs Up to EU Savings-Tax Agreement, Ending Deadlock Bloomberg Bettel: “With Austria, Luxembourg can go ahead and give the green light for the EU savings directive”. See also: Austria, Luxembourg Accept EU Bank-Secrecy Law The Wall Street Journal - Bloc Promises to Push Switzerland, … [Read more...]
Secrecy jurisdictions already aiming at loopholes in OECD project
We have been rather complimentary recently about the OECD's emerging project to deliver automatic information exchange globally. It contains many positive (and important elements), but we also noted some shortcomings. One of the loopholes we noted was: "It is increasingly easy for individuals to … [Read more...]
Links Mar 20
Havens set deadline for reporting investors’ tax details Financial Times (paywall) The British Virgin Islands, Liechtenstein and Jersey are among 44 countries that have set a deadline of September 2017 for reporting investors’ tax details to their home governments, under pioneer plans aimed at … [Read more...]
Links Mar 19
US Virgin Islands Lures Businesses With Tax Breaks International Business Times "These generous tax breaks don’t render the Virgin Islands a corporate or offshore tax haven, like such well-known rivals as Bermuda or the Cayman Islands ... That’s because the Virgin Islands’ tax benefits are legally … [Read more...]
New campaign: End Anonymous Companies
Links Mar 18
'Yanukovych Leaks' documents abuse of office DeutscheWelle Presidential residence owned by an Austrian company, which in turn was owned by a British firm, that was controlled by a trust in Liechtenstein. ' "If Yanukovych had run his country's affairs like he did his private life in Mezhyhirya, we … [Read more...]
