Financial Transparency Coalition

WASHINGTON, DC – Following the conclusion of a two day conference titled “Increasing Transparency in Global Finance: A Development Imperative,” the Task Force on Financial Integrity and Economic Development issued the following statement to the members of the G-20:

Staggering – capital flight out of South Africa could be 20% of GDP. That’s massive organised theft. And the big increase is transfer mispricing. That is corporate theft. Don’t tell me that corproations don’t help create poverty in these places. They do so deliberately. This data from economists at the University of Witswaterand, Johannesburg.

An influential American Senator has urged US President Barack Obama to push the G20 nations to bar tax haven banks from participating in the global financial system if they refuse to cooperate with investigations of tax evasion.

Sen. Levin Calls For Tax Haven Sanctions In Run-up To G-20.

U.S. Sen. Carl Levin of Michigan wants the U.S. to propose stiff sanctions at this month’s G-20 economic summit for banks and countries that harbor the assets of tax evaders.

In a Tuesday letter to President Obama, Levin said the U.S. should seek Group of 20 approval of sanctions for tax havens, including prohibiting G-20 banks from doing business with financial institutions that are found to be impeding tax enforcement.