Financial Transparency Coalition

Richard Murphy of Tax Research UK, a coordinating committee member of the Task Force, has released a new report on tax haven abuse on behalf of the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS), War on Want, and the Tax Justice Network. The report examines the effects of tax havens on tax collection, financial stability, corruption and poverty.  In addition, it looks at the consequences of secrecy laws in tax havens on the international financial system. The report expresses concern over the direction tax law is moving in, stating:

PCS wishes to draw attention to the massively worrying trends in UK taxation, all put in place since 2009, which mean that far from tackling tax haven activity, the UK Government is now actively encouraging such activity on the part of multinational corporations based in the UK. Furthermore, because of the international tax agreements it has reached with them, it is also actively promoting the use of the financial services industry in both Switzerland and Liechtenstein for tax avoidance and evasion purposes.

Tax havens increase tax evasion and avoidance, redistribute wealth from the poor to the rich, create corruption and financial instability, and weaken both markets and democracies. For more information on the report and Tax Havens generally, follow Richard Murphy at the Tax Research UK blog.