Financial Transparency Coalition

Below is a must-see video from Al Jazeera English, reporting on the report by Action Aid UK on tax avoidance by sugar companies in Zambia. The report finds that British Foods Group, a major supplier of sugar in Zambia, made a profit of $123 million since 2007, but paid virtually no taxes. The losses include over $80 million in funds moved to tax havens, and a $47 million 'management fee' from British Food Group's Irish subsidiary. And this is all in addition the billions of illicit dollars leaving Zambia every year.

In the last few years—and particularly since Vladamir Putin retook power—Russia has increasingly retreated to Cold War tendencies. Russia’s relationship with the United States has soured over its ban on American adoptions of Russian children, a clash over its missile defense problem, and USAID’s democracy promotion efforts. This week, in perhaps the most obvious flashback of all, President Putin announced his nation requires an immediate and massive military upgrade by 2016. And the former KGB agent plans to spend $750 billion over the next seven years to accomplish it. Yet Russia’s existential threat is not from the United States. No,...

Alvin Mosiama, director of Tax Justice Network Africa, and a Task Force regional representative, has as much experience as anyone in campaigning on taxes and transparency for developing countries. In a great op-ed for Devex that everyone should read, he outlines how corporations aren't just shifting profits to tax havens, but simultaneously shifting the burden of funding the government to those that can least afford it.

Voice of America (VOA) has begun an investigation into global corruption, the first segment of which aired this week, featuring the work of Task Force members Global Financial Integrity and Transparency International.