September 28th, 2009
Tax Justice Network International and Tax Justice Network USA released the following
reaction to Pittsburgh's G20 communique:
Reactions by Tax Justice Network USA / Tax Justice Network International
We are heartened by the G-20’s renewed commitment to cleaning up tax havens, building on the progress that it made at the London summit last April. However, we are concerned that the G-20 needs to do much more to translate this commitment into reform.
While the G-20 communiqué states (para. 15) that its “commitment to fight non-cooperative jurisdictions has produced impressive results,” in...
September 11th, 2009
A
new joint briefing paper by Global Witness, Tax Justice Network, Christian Aid and Global Financial Integrity explains how illicit financial flows out of the developing world is entrenching poverty. These flows include tax evasion, abusive transfer mispricing and the proceeds of corruption.
All of these illicit financial flows are facilitated by global financial opacity, both in tax havens and major financial centres.
As a result of the financial crisis, which was largely created by global financial opacity, governments are now starting to tackle these issues, particularly through the G20 process.
Describing a problem is not enough though: the paper...
September 2nd, 2009
As the Tax Justice Network notes:
Tucked away low down in an article in the August edition of the Swiss review, there is this:
“Switzerland has become a paradise for foreign capital on which tax is not paid. The uproar from foreign governments is understandable.”
These are not the words of a critic of the banks, but of private banker Konrad Hummler. He says that around 30%, or CHF 1,000 billion, of the CHF 2,800 billion or so of foreign assets in Swiss banks is untaxed “black money”.
Continue Reading
August 24th, 2009
In the lead up to the G20 meeting in London this past spring, people from all over Europe
descended on the small island of Jersey to raise awareness of its role as a tax haven. Filmmaker Zoe Young has now turned her footage of the event into a great
video called "Banking in the Shadows .. a Trip to Jersey." Check it out:
