September 14th, 2011
In Germany, the Social Democratic Party (SPD) has come out against the deal. Meanwhile, the
European Commission has also said it will have to assess the legality of the deals but has not taken a firm position. The final withholding tax concept, known as ‘Rubik,’ was initially formulated by the Association of Foreign Banks in Switzerland (AFBS) and by Swiss banks to protect banking secrecy against the international moves towards
automatic tax information exchange, which followed the global financial crisis.
SPD Plans to Block Rubik Ratification in Germany
The SPD’s financial concept note published last Monday rejects the agreement with Switzerland. It is...
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August 26th, 2011
The UK has initialed an agreement with Switzerland which we recently wrote up on the Task Force blog. In short, UK tax evaders using banks in Switzerland will have to start paying some tax - but the UK will allow those (criminal) tax evaders to avoid penalties and retain their anonymity. The UK will have to trust that Switzerland will keep its part of the bargain, even though it will be impossible to conduct any comprehensive checks. There are reasonable fears that this model may spread widely to other countries.
We at TJN think this is a thoroughly rotten and...
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August 26th, 2011
As Libya prepares for the future, what are financial centres doing to stop the flow of stolen assets from dictators? The following is adapted from a speechmade by Transparency International’s vice-chair, Akere Muna, at the UN public service forum in Dar es Salaam, United Republic of Tanzania.
If corruption, especially money laundering and bribery are to be tackled, we need to see action not only from developing countries, but also countries that are home to major financial centres.
Here in Africa there is wide recognition that poor governance is one of the biggest barriers to sustainable development, what is missing is recognition...
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August 25th, 2011
LONDON - The new tax deal between the UK and Switzerland amounts to collusion with criminality and will seriously damage poor countries’ attempts to collect the billions they lose to tax dodgers, Christian Aid is warning.
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