Global Financial Integrity
WASHINGTON, DC – Global Financial Integrity (GFI) submitted a statement to the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Ways and Means today on critical measures needed to ensure success in Congressional efforts to curtail abuse of tax havens. The statement, submitted for the hearing held today on “Banking Secrecy and Wealthy American Taxpayers,” recommends provisions set forward in the the Stop Tax Haven Abuse Act and Incorporation Transparency Act, both sponsored by Senator Carl Levin and introduced earlier this month.
Global Financial Integrity
WASHINGTON, DC – Global Financial Integrity (GFI) sent Congressional leadership a letter today signed by nearly 30 public interest groups affirming support for legislation that would combat offshore secrecy jurisdictions (Stop Tax Haven Abuse Act) and applauding Congressional action on the problem of tax haven abuse. Called the “Stop Tax Haven Abuse Act” the Levin bill would, among other benefits, give the Treasury Department “authority to take special measures against foreign jurisdictions and financial institutions that impede U.S. tax enforcement.” An estimated $100 billion in US taxes are lost each year due to the abuse of tax havens.
Increasing transparency has become an uncertain element in the laundry list of reforms, regulations, agreements, and actions expected to be discussed when the G20 meets this week. Of the original three solutions proposed to be addressed by the G20 process: stimulus, regulation, and transparency, it is the first two: stimulus and regulation, which have emerged as dominant themes for Thursday’s meeting. This is a critical misstep as transparency represents the most reasonable and effective means for strengthening and revitalizing the global financial system.
The communiqué following the November 15th meeting of the G20 in Washington was bold and comprehensive, with “strengthening transparency and accountability” well argued and placed ahead of “enhancing sound regulation.” But transparency did not appear in the elements paper preceding the April 2nd meeting in London. Nor did it appear in U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner’s statement following the March 14th finance ministers meeting in Horsham. And it appeared only glancingly—“transparency of exposures to off-balance sheet vehicles”—in the general communiqué following that meeting.
WASHINGTON, DC – Global Financial Integrity Director Raymond Baker released the following statement ahead of the upcoming G20 summit in London.
Global Financial Integrity
WASHINGTON, DC – The Government of Denmark is the newest member to join the Task Force on Financial Integrity and Economic Development, Global Financial Integrity announced this week.
Global Financial Integrity
WASHINGTON, DC – Global Financial Integrity welcomed the introduction of the Stop Tax Haven Abuse Act.
Global Financial Integrity
WASHINGTON, DC – International anti-corruption leader Transparency International (TI) is the newest member to join the Task Force on Financial Integrity and Economic Development, Global Financial Integrity (GFI) announced today.
Global Financial Integrity
WASHINGTON, DC – The discovery of “massive and on-going fraud” at Stanford Financial Group, intensifying U.S. pressure against Swiss bank UBS, and strong words of intent to crackdown on tax havens issued Sunday by EU finance ministers are just the latest events to underscore the need to institute transparency measures in tax and financial policy.
