Financial Transparency Coalition

Earlier this week, Senators Carl Levin (D-MI) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) introduced a bill to “combat U.S. corporations with hidden owners” that would require disclosure of beneficial ownership information in the company formation process. This proposed legislation would facilitate the transparency of the financial system by making it more difficult for criminal organizations to hide behind front companies and shell corporations.

An explosion of anti-corruption protests this month saw effigies burnt in India, hundreds protesting in Russia, and mass riots in China. As tensions rise, the focus of the anti-corruption debate has begun to shift. Instead of seeing corruption as hurtful because it destroys the environment, weakens governments, and harms the poor, some governments have begun to see corruption as hurtful because of its economic consequences. A recent Moscow Times article by Anders Aslund incorporates this shift in thinking. Claiming corruption is so pervasive that investments to increase productivity are virtually impossible, Aslund writes: “Russia cannot build public infrastructure because standard...

Paying for the revolution Executive Magazine, August 3, 2011

Did mass killer Breivik have money links to Bermuda? BDA Sun, August 3, 2011

California amnesty program for tax dodgers San Francisco Chronicle, August 4, 2011

Treasury backs Senate fight against shell corporations The Hill, August 3, 2011

Jersey considers strengthening money laundering laws BBC, August 3, 2011

Tax haven FDI to face tough scrutiny The Financial Express, August 4, 2011

The nine regional councils will ask for country by country reports from their banks and insurers. This will include the following details: Name and number of subsidiaries; numbers of staff employed; profits and amounts of taxes paid. This information should be provided by the company six months after its annual report is published. This information is invaluable in calculating whether a company is paying its fair share of tax in each country. The precedent this sets is very important as the EU is currently considering introducing country by county reporting. The Comite Catholique Contre La Faim et Pour Le...