Financial Transparency Coalition

We have long pointed to the fact that the United States is, to a very significant degree, a secrecy jurisdiction, not least through dirty practices offered in places such as Delaware. It isn’t something that people like to mention in polite company.

Now we’re very heartened to see the Australian tax office has written an open submission to the US Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, which includes the following strongly-worded:

“In our opinion, entities established in some states of the USA, for example some US incorporated companies, have some of these same attributes as entities established in secrecy havens.”

This is timely, in light of a briefing by TJN-USA and its colleagues and partners, Global Financial Integrity and Citizens for Tax Justice, on the Hill in Washington DC tomorrow, including on the all-important Incorporation Transparency and Law Enforcement Act which will engage on the issue of the United States being a secrecy jurisdiction.

The Australians also helpfully include a description of some of the crimes that have been encouraged and facilitated by American secrecy. The overview is here, and the detailed case studies are here.