G20 Says Automatic Tax Information Exchange “Expected to Be the Standard”
Finance Ministers Fail to Adequately Address Anonymous Shell Companies
WASHINGTON, DC – Global Financial Integrity (GFI) lauded G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Friday for prominently focusing on the issue of tax haven secrecy and strongly declaring that automatic exchange of tax information is “expected to be the standard” moving forward, but GFI expressed disappointment in the leaders’ failure to sufficiently address the issue of anonymous shell companies. The leaders released their communiqué Friday afternoon after two days of meetings in Washington ahead of the annual spring meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.
SIR:
As a research and advocacy group that has for years called attention to the murky world of tax havens, we welcome your report (Leaks reveal secrets of the rich who hide cash offshore, 4 April). But you should also have dispelled the myth advocated by some proponents that tax havens promote greater tax efficiency through competition; the evidence in economic literature is scanty at best. What is clear is that this benefit has not been enough to prevent tax havens from going bankrupt.
This month’s leak of data on the use of offshore tax havens and anonymous shell companies from the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists emphasizes how massive and truly global the tax haven menace really is.
The files released by the ICIJ, analyzed in collaboration with nearly forty news outlets around the globe, implicate the families of foreign dictators in Nigeria and the Philippines, embroil international arms dealers, entangle conduits of the Iranian nuclear program, incriminate close associates of the current French President, and expose scores of other tax evaders and swindlers in the U.S. and around the world.
On U.S. Tax Day, Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-TX) Introduces Legislation to Close Offshore Tax Loopholes and Foster Transparency
5 More European Nations Join Compact to Automatically Exchange Tax Information Multilaterally
WASHINGTON, DC – As the deadline arrived Monday for Americans to file their tax returns, U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-TX) introduced the Stop Tax Haven Abuse Act (STHA) to initiate transparency measures and close several offshore tax loopholes that cost the United States Treasury an estimated $150 billion every year. Beyond boosting tax revenue in the U.S., Global Financial Integrity (GFI) praised the legislation for its impact on developing nations, which lose an estimated $1 trillion per year in illicit outflows of money due to tax haven secrecy.
Governments of France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the UK Agree to Automatically Exchange Tax Information Multilaterally
GFI Urges Rapid Expansion to Include Developing Countries in the Landmark Multilateral Convention
WASHINGTON, DC – Global Financial Integrity (GFI) applauded the governments of France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom today for announcing that they will be launching the first ever multilateral system of automatic tax information exchange. The Washington, DC-based research and advocacy group hailed the news as a landmark moment for taxpayers and transparency advocates with enormous implications for global development.
Historic EU Transparency Rules Would Build Upon Landmark Cardin-Lugar Provisions to Include Logging Companies and Large, Privately-Owned Firms
WASHINGTON, DC – Global Financial Integrity (GFI) lauded European leaders today for agreeing to adopt historic transparency rules for European companies operating in the extractive sectors. The rules, announced this evening in Brussels, will require large, privately-owned European companies and EU-listed firms operating in the oil, gas, mining, and logging sectors to disclose information on payments made to governments.
Al Jazeera English
GFI Communications Director Clark Gascoigne spoke with Al Jazeera’s News Hour on April 5, 2013, about the International Consortium of Investigative Journalist’s massive investigation exposing hidden shell companies and assets in tax havens.
UN High-Level Panel Communiqué Calls Tackling Illicit Financial Flows, Tax Havens, “Particularly Important” to Development Agenda
WASHINGTON, DC – Global Financial Integrity (GFI) today praised the United Nations High-Level Panel (HLP) of Eminent Persons on the Post-2015 Development Agenda for highlighting the need to tackle illicit financial flows and the role of tax havens as key to global development moving forward.
