Financial Transparency Coalition

NEW YORK – The President announced his intention today to advocate for Congress to adopt laws requiring the disclosure of beneficial ownership for corporations at the time of company formation, an idea already proposed by Senators Carl Levin and Chuck Grassley in S. 1483, the Incorporation Transparency and Law Enforcement Assistance Act, as well as a U.S. commitment to implement the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), as part of the launch of the new government transparency initiative, the Open Government Partnership.

WASHINGTON, DC – Proponents of tax fairness and financial accountability applauded the news yesterday of the Senate’s passage of patent-reform legislation containing a provision to eliminate tax strategy patents.

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.