Africa Progress Report 2010: From Agenda to Action

Johannesburg – The Africa Progress Report launched today by the Africa Progress Panel (APP) states that African leaders need to boost “political determination and capacity to use what revenues they have to achieve results for people”.

Official Obama Administration Statement of Policy on the House Amendment to Senate Amendment to American Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes Act of 2010

The Administration strongly supports House passage of the House Amendment to the Senate Amendment to H.R. 4213. Passage of this legislation will provide much-needed relief to families, including extended access to health care benefits for workers who have lost their jobs and extended unemployment insurance benefits for millions of Americans who are looking for work. It will also provide critical assistance to hard-pressed States while encouraging continued job creation by America’s businesses. The importance of longer-term extensions for various authorities and programs – and the certainty that such extensions bring – has been highlighted by the severe problems caused by interruptions in authorities for these programs.

GFI: The Absorption of Illicit Financial Flows from Developing Countries: 2002-2006

WASHINGTON, D.C.—A May 2010 report from Global Financial Integrity (GFI) examines where trillions of dollars in illicit finances—the proceeds of crime, corruption, and tax evasion—are being deposited.

Christian Aid: Blowing the Whistle: Time’s Up for Financial Secrecy

LONDON—A May 2010 report from Christian Aid, Blowing the Whistle: Time’s Up for Financial Secrecy, reveals how the same tax-haven secrecy that allows football club owners to hide their business practices – and even their identities – is also facilitating massive tax dodging in developing countries.

G20 Finance Ministers & Central Bank Governors’ Communiqué

The final communiqué released following the conclusion of the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors’ meeting on April 23, 2010.

Investments for development: Derailed to tax havens

By Richard Murphy — Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) are state owned companies located in European countries that invest their capital in developing countries for the express purpose of advancing development in those places by promoting investment in local business. In this respect their activities can be compared to that of the European Investment Bank (EIB) and International Finance Corporation (IFC) – a part of the World Bank. All these institutions are closely related in the way they operate, including the use of tax havens in their investment operations or those of their beneficiaries. Therefore, the concerns raised and proposals addressed to DFIs in this paper are also applicable to the other two institutions.

Investments for development: Derailed to tax havens

I have written a report with the above title for a group of mainly Scandinavian NGOs.The summary says:

Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) are state owned companies located in European countries that invest their capital in developing countries for the express purpose of advancing development in those places by promoting investment in local business. In this respect their activities can be compared to that of the European Investment Bank (EIB) and International Finance Corporation (IFC) – a part of the World Bank. All these institutions are closely related in the way they operate, including the use of tax havens in their investment operations or those of their beneficiaries. Therefore, the concerns raised and proposals addressed to DFIs in this paper are also applicable to the other two institutions.

At the end of 2008 the DFIs that were members of the European Development Finance Institutions network (EDFI) had combined funds invested in developing countries of about €16.7 billion.

In our opinion DFIs have a very special and very particular role in development. As state owned enterprises it is their job to encourage three things:

Nearly 200 NGOs call for G20 action to tackle illicit financial flows

Last night, 194 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) from the UNCAC Civil Society Coalition released a statement calling on the G20 Finance Ministers to tackle the issue of illicit financial flows at their meeting in Washington later this month. The statement essentially mirrors the text of the G20 Transparency Petition – an initiative from Global Financial Integrity to gather 100,000 signatures calling on the G20 to address the serious issue of illicit financial flows by creating transparency in the international financial system. You can add your list to the petition at www.G20Transparency.com. Scroll down for the full UNCAC Coalition statement and full list of NGO signatories.

Call for G20 action to tackle illicit financial flows

We, the undersigned civil society organisations, urge the Group of Twenty Countries (G20) to:

• recognise the link between illicit outflows of capital from developing countries, absorption of those resources by tax havens and secrecy jurisdictions, and the adverse impact those flows have on poverty alleviation and economic development;
• call on the Financial Action Task Force to amend its recommendations 33, 34, and VIII to provide that the beneficial ownership of all companies, trusts, foundations and charities be made a matter of public record;

CTJ Breaks Down Tax Provisions in Recent U.S. Jobs Legislation

Our colleagues at Citizens for Tax Justice (CTJ) released a clear summary of the tax provisions in recent Capitol Hill jobs legislation. As they note, there have been a number of small pieces of legislation passing through the Congress, so it’s been difficult to keep up with it all. As many of these bills have tax evasion measures included in them as “pay-fors,” it’s refreshing to have CTJ clearly break it down for us.

You can download the summary here…

Privately Held, Non-Resident Deposits in Secrecy Jurisdictions

Washington — A new report released today from Global Financial Integrity (GFI) on private, non-resident deposits in secrecy jurisdictions finds that the United States, United Kingdom, and the Cayman Islands are the most popular destinations for financial deposits by non-residents. Switzerland, Luxembourg, and Hong Kong also make the top 10 list of destinations.

The Implied Tax Revenue Loss from Trade Mispricing

Washington, DC — Developing country treasuries are losing approximately $100 billion dollars every year due to trade mispricing, according to a new report available today from Global Financial Integrity (GFI).

Investigations Subcommittee Holds Hearing on Keeping Foreign Corruption Out of the United States: Four Case Histories

WASHINGTON – Corrupt foreign officials and their relatives have used gaps in U.S. law and the assistance of U.S. professionals to funnel millions of dollars in illicit money into the United States, an investigation by the Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations has found. [PDF]