Financial Transparency Coalition

Today, the House Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit held a hearing on a proposed IRS regulation which would allow the IRS to track the deposits of non-resident aliens in the United States. The United States functions as a tax haven for many non-resident aliens, as the IRS is unable to determine how much money is hidden in US banks. The IRS is seeking the regulation as part of a global effort to increase tax information exchange, and eventually collect revenue from more US tax evaders. Video is available here. Here's how it all works. The IRS collects information...

Part 2 of 3. James K. Boyce and Léonce Ndikumana discuss the debt problem in Africa, and their book Africa’s Odious Debts: How Foreign Loans and Capital Flight Bled a Continent.

Part 1 of 3. James K. Boyce and Léonce Ndikumana discuss the debt problem in Africa, and their book Africa’s Odious Debts: How Foreign Loans and Capital Flight Bled a Continent.

Most large-scale corruption cases involve using legal entities to conceal ownership and control of corrupt proceeds, and policymakers should take steps to improve transparency to reduce opportunities for wrongdoing, according to a study released today by the Stolen Asset Recovery (StAR) Initiative of the World Bank and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. The report, The Puppet Masters: How the Corrupt Use Legal Structures to Hide Stolen Assets and What to Do About It, examines how bribes, embezzled state assets and other criminal proceeds are being hidden via legal structures – shell companies, foundations, trusts and others. The...