Financial Transparency Coalition

I’m pretty confident you won’t have read it, but this week's edition of Transfer Pricing Week saw Vodafone’s tax director, John Connors, publicly enter the debate regarding Christian Aid’s campaign for country-by-country reporting. For some time now we have been talking with Vodafone about tax and development and trying to convince it that it should get on top of this crucial issue. And Vodafone has acknowledged that we have ‘had some interesting discussions.’ This week, that conversation went public – and this is something we welcome. We are campaigning for transparency after all. Connors said in the article that ‘country-by-country reporting is a little misguided’ suggesting...

Assistant Administrator Eric Postel of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has sent a letter to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) supporting Section 1504, or the Cardin-Lugar provision, of the Dodd-Frank financial reform bill. The "Publish What You Pay" provision, which has been significantly delayed, requires energy and mining companies registered with the SEC to report payments to foreign governments for the extraction of oil, gas, and minerals on a country-by-country basis.  Commenting on the positive effects of country-by-country reporting, Postel writes:

“Our overarching belief is that the enforcement of the proposed rules contributes towards U.S. Government...

UK Prime Minister David Cameron gave a speech in Lagos, Nigeria, where he encouraged the European Union to adopt "Publish What You Pay" rules for the mining, oil, and gas industries. According to GFI estimates, Nigeria loses over $14 billion each year to illicit financial flows, far more than any other African nation, with its energy sector being by far the most prominent contributor. Task Force member Christian Aid was quick to praise the development, in particular these comments from his speech:

LONDON – Christian Aid today welcomed Prime Minister David Cameron’s backing for legislation that will force companies to reveal the taxes and fees paid to governments in every country where they operate. Speaking in Lagos, the Prime Minister said the EU should follow the example of the US, which has introduced a new law to force mining