Financial Transparency Coalition

As many of our readers know, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) is under assault by the Chamber of Commerce and some members of Congress.  This valuable statute prohibits domestic companies from bribing foreign officials for the purpose of obtaining or retaining business opportunities abroad and has a purposefully broad reach, extending to any company operating globally with securities registered in the U.S. It should go without saying this kind of corruption undermines the integrity of foreign governments and competitive business practices internationally.  In spite of this, the Chamber of Commerce wants to “reform” the statute so corporations can more easily...

WASHINGTON, DC – Senators Carl Levin (D-MI) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) introduced bi-partisan legislation today, which would require companies to disclose the names of the beneficial owners of corporations and limited liability companies (LLCs) when formed. Anti-money laundering proponents, law enforcement groups, and financial transparency organizations consider the legislation, known as the Incorporation Transparency and Law Enforcement Assistance Act of 2011, a crucial step toward strengthening law enforcement and keeping criminal and tax evading money out of the U.S.

WASHINGTON, DC – News that Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. donated $1 million to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce (Chamber) months before the Chamber issued a proposal to relax elements of the nation’s flagship anti-corruption legislation, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), highlights the need to fully understand the ties between the Chamber and companies charged under the FCPA.

WASHINGTON – The Internal Revenue Service is giving more time to Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD), Aegon NV (AGN) and other banks based outside of the U.S. to implement a controversial tax reporting rule.