Financial Transparency Coalition

Last week, a draft of the European Commission’s proposal to address country-by-country reporting (CBCR) was leaked to the press. The official proposal, scheduled to be released publicly on April 12th, marks the first time the European Commission has come together collectively in support of public CBCR, and was considered a major breakthrough by tax justice

Last Saturday a landmark decision was taken when the African Union, made up of 54 African Heads of State, adopted the report of the High Level Panel on Illicit Financial Flows (IFF). This report documents the scale and impact of IFF from the continent and gives a range of policy recommendations. Our friends at the Tax Justice Network says the report is“probably the most important report yet produced on this issue” and for good reasons. The new report is not only a strong testament to the importance that African leaders are...

WASHINGTON D.C.—The Financial Transparency Coalition congratulates two members of its Coordinating Committee who were named to the International Tax Review’s “Global Tax 50”, a yearly list of the most influential people and organizations in the tax world. The Brussels-based European Network on Debt and Development (Eurodad) and the UK’s Tax Justice Network were featured among other influential voices, like the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, Pascal Saint-Amans of the OECD, and the International Monetary Fund.

Our overall feeling is that we’re winning some minor victories in the battle against tax dodging, but we risk losing the war. We’ve gained a new template for country-by-country reporting, and some new anti-abuse provisions for tax treaties are emerging. But our political momentum to achieve a more fundamental change to the global tax system can be undermined by the fact that OECD sells these rather limited steps forward as a magic solution to tax dodging. Furthermore, some very concerning tendencies are developing: