Financial Transparency Coalition

California spends about $8,500 per year to educate its public school students. That’s about $3,300 less than the national average. In fact, according to Education Week in a national ranking of states and D.C., California ranks near the bottom, at 49^th, in terms of per-pupil spending. There are reasons to believe that one cause of this problem is the system of property taxation in California—and its loopholes. The biggest player in property taxation and its policy in California is Proposition 13. Approved by California’s voters in 1978, Proposition 13 sets limits on the annual increases of assessed value...

Sometimes—even usually—competition is a good thing. It lowers market prices; it sent a man to the moon; and it’s responsible for thousands of Olympic medals. In many cases, competitions–or races–are responsible for innovation, efficiency, and better performance. In these cases, an individual actor’s pursuit of victory leads to the betterment of society, a market, or a generation of athletes. However, sometimes competitions—or races—instead lead to worse outcomes for society. Often called a “race to the bottom,” these kinds of competitions include, for example, international degradations of environmental and labor standards. This kind of race also happens in...

Three separate articles were published by The New York Times this week, connecting the dots of the shadow financial system. All three articles centered in some way around incorporation transparency - knowing who is the real beneficial owner of the corporation that you are doing business with. This issue is one of the five recommendations advocated for by the Task Force, and is at the center of countless world problems.

Task Force coordinating committee member Global Witness released Grave Secrecy today, a report telling the story of companies which were used to launder the proceeds of corruption, tax evasion and other crimes. The report shows how shell companies based the UK, Bulgaria, and New Zealand were used to launder corrupt money originating from Kyrgyzstan's AsiaUniversialBank.