Financial Transparency Coalition

The Obama Administration was an early backer of beneficial ownership legislation, which would collect information on the true owners of companies, and make that information available to law enforcement. However, since then, UK Prime Minister David Cameron has begun advocating for more thorough disclosure at the G8 level, including both law enforcement and the public at large.

The US Conference of Catholic Bishops submitted a letter to the G8 Heads of State on Tuesday, urging them to fight poverty by addressing tax evasion and financial transparency. It reads, "The G8’s emphasis on transparency is critical. Human dignity demands truth, and democracy requires transparency. With more and better information, civil societies, including faith-based organizations, can hold their governments accountable and help insure that resources reduce poverty and improve the health of the whole society."

Two great editorials today. The first, from the New York Times, responds to last week's Senate hearing over Apple's tax abuses by calling for country-by-country reporting, a Coalition policy goal, and ending corporate tax deferral in the United States. This is great news, and will hopefully help persuade U.S. policy measures to address the worst problems in their corporate tax code. The second, from the Financial Times, also calls for country-by-country reporting at the EU level. Furthermore, it calls for another Coalition policy goal, automatic exchange of tax information.

In the May 2013 Taxcast: Google and Apple are forced to defend their tax affairs in public, how anti-EU sentiment serves offshore interests and the Taxcast looks at tax havens and the arms trade: how secrecy kills. The Lord of War makes an appearance.