October 18, 2013
GFI President Raymond Baker delivers remarks at the “Human Rights and Economic Justice: Essential Elements of the Post-MDG Agenda” conference at Yale University on October 18, 2013. Mr. Baker’s remarks provide an overview of the issue of illicit financial flows, and he explains how it plays into the Post-2015 Development Agenda.
October 17, 2013
Criminals make a tremendous amount of money, but what happens to it? The Wire, Breaking Bad, Lethal Weapon, and more explain. Too often, our financial system makes it easy for criminals to hide from law enforcement. Learn...
October 15, 2013
One of the biggest advancements in curtailing illicit financial flows to date is the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (Fatca) signed into law in March 2010. The law required foreign financial institutions to report to the US government information on all of their US clients. Almost immediately, foreign governments demanded the same from the United States, leading to a flurry of intergovernmental agreements between the US and foreign nations — many of them developing countries — establishing a system of automatic exchange of tax information.
In order for the law to work effectively, and in order for developing nations to benefit from it, each of these intergovernmental agreements needs to be negotiated and signed both by US treasury department officials and by their foreign counterparts. Unfortunately, with the US government shutdown for more than two weeks, those treasury department officials are unable to do their jobs.
October 14, 2013
Six years ago, when the effort to promote greater transparency in the global financial system began to gain traction, it was well understood that at some point private sector support would be a key factor in achieving progress. Last week at the International Bar Association’s (IBA) annual meeting in Boston, an IBA task force released a report that takes a major step in that direction. The study examined the issue of tax evasion from the “perspective of international human right law” and found that there is a linkage between human rights and the use of secrecy jurisdictions and other measures used to avoid or evade taxation.
October 10, 2013
WASHINGTON, DC – As central bank governors, finance ministers, and global leaders gather in Washington ahead of the annual meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) this weekend, Global Financial Integrity (GFI) calls on the World Bank to prioritize the issue of illicit financial flows from developing countries on its agenda.
September 19, 2013
WASHINGTON, DC – As congressional leaders weigh presenting an overhaul of the U.S. tax code, Senators Carl Levin (D-MI), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Mark Begich (D-AK), and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) introduced legislation Thursday to increase transparency in the financial system and close several offshore tax loopholes. While the Joint Committee on Taxation estimates the bill would generate roughly $220 billion in U.S. government revenue over ten years, Global Financial Integrity (GFI) particularly welcomed the Stop Tax Haven Abuse Act (STHAA) for its impact on developing nations, which lose nearly $1 trillion per year in illicit outflows of money due to tax haven secrecy.
September 17, 2013
EVENT ADVISORY
WASHINGTON, DC – Heather Lowe, Legal Counsel and Director of Government Affairs at Global Financial Integrity (GFI), is slated to appear on a panel Thursday afternoon at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundations’ Annual Legislative Conference, discussing the importance of refocusing U.S. law enforcement policies on targeting money laundering and major drug traffickers. Hosted by the Honorable Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA), the panel discussion will follow opening remarks delivered by U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder.
September 6, 2013
WASHINGTON, DC – The G20 leaders agreed today to begin sharing tax information automatically between themselves—expecting to be able to implement the agreement by the end of 2015—in a move hailed by Global Financial Integrity (GFI) as a major advancement in the fight against tax evasion. GFI welcomed the commitment by world leaders to assist low-income countries’ effort to additionally ensure their eventual participation in the automatic exchange of tax information. However, the Washington, DC-based research and advocacy group expressed disappointment in the G20 declaration’s omission of a timeframe to include developing countries in such a system.