Financial Transparency Coalition

The Task Force on Financial Integrity and Economic Development conference in Bergen starting on 28 September also sees a side event on that day when Danish NGO IBIS and a range of its partner launch a new report. That report – entitled ‘Investments for Development: Derailed to Tax Havens: A report on the use of tax havens by Development Finance Institutions’ – has been written by UK based chartered accountant Richard Murphy (me), the director of Tax Research UK, a member organisation of the Co-ordinating Committee. The report, which is sponsored by IBIS, NCA, CRBM, Eurodad, Forum Syd...

Conclusions of the OECD Meeting of the Council at Ministerial Level, 27-28 May 2010

In January 2010 the German government, in association with the European Commission and the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, organised a meeting of its International Tax Compact to consider the relationship between tax and development. Abusive tax practices featured high on the agenda. Details of the meeting, including the final communiqué and the papers submitted by participants, who included Jo Marie Griesgraber from our partners, New Rules for Global Finance, and our Director, John Christensen, are available here.

Ngozi Ikonjo-Iweala is MD of the World Bank. She’s spoken here and is saying that the importance of the issue we’re talking about – illicit financial flows – has not yet struck home. It’s time for it to take centre stage. She has directly endorsed action. Direct action, on the street, she says. She’s directly thanked the small coterie of us from civil society who are working on this issue – and has said this is the #1 issue for civil society and development now. There must be, she says, people on the streets demanding change. Placards are needed. And we must...