Financial Transparency Coalition

The importance of tax for development is widely accepted. It is also increasingly being acknowledged that a company’s approach to taxation is an integral part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Against this background Christian Aid has produced a briefing “Tax and Sustainability: A framework for businesses and socially responsible investors”. This framework can be used by ethical investors to asses whether a company’s tax policy is responsible in its design or implementation.

Practice Costs Spain, Developing Countries Dearly in Much-Needed Tax Revenue A recent report by the Spanish observatory on Corporate Social Responsibility, which comprises several civil society organisations, reveals that ALL companies listed in the Spanish stock exchange operate directly or indirectly through jurisdictions which are considered opaque by the Financial Secrecy Index of the Tax Justice Network. The report entitled, “Corporate Social Responsibility in the annual report of companies in the IBEX35,” highlights that more than 80% of companies that are part of the benchmark stock market index (IBEX 35) in the Spanish stock exchange (the Bolsa de...

Cocaine is the drug of choice in several European countries, but most notably, Spain, which has the highest per capita consumption of cocaine in the continent. It is so prevalent, in fact, that researchers have found the drug in an analysis of the air in Madrid and Barcelona (concentrations are even higher on weekends). And if you examine a random bank note in Spain, there is a 94% chance you’ll find traces of cocaine on it. This problem hasn’t been getting much better for Spain or for the rest of Europe, for that matter. In fact, in November of...

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.