Crackdown on tax evasion in attempt to help poorer countries

The Guardian — Large companies should reveal how much of their profits they pay in tax to developing nations to show they comply with local corporation tax regimes, Stephen Timms, the Treasury minister, will say tomorrow as part of a three-pronged effort to boost tax revenues in poor countries.

Obama urged to push G20 for action on money laundering

An influential American Senator has urged US President Barack Obama to push the G20 nations to bar tax haven banks from participating in the global financial system if they refuse to cooperate with investigations of tax evasion.

“Political Elites Ensure Continuing Flight of Dirty Money”

PARIS, Sep 16 (IPS) – Illegal capital flight in the form of corrupt, criminal and illicit commercial proceeds out of developing economies could be as high as one trillion dollars a year.

UBS deal cracks door on banking secrecy worldwide

Wednesday’s agreement by Swiss bank UBS to divulge details of 4,450 accounts to the US Internal Revenue Service has put a crowbar into the door of Switzerland’s long tradition of bank secrecy. But it’s just a small opening. The amount of global wealth stashed in tax-haven nations is staggering and largely uncontrolled, financial experts say. Here’s a brief backgrounder:

To clean up tax havens, Panama must go beyond Swiss “cheese”

Tax havens such as Panama came under intense scrutiny at the G-20 summit last week as the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) issued a new tax-haven list, including Panama among 30 target countries that agreed to adopt international tax norms years ago but failed to do so.1 Focus on Panama’s tax-haven and money-laundering problems intensified in March when US Trade Representative Ron Kirk suggested at his confirmation hearing that the administration might consider bringing to Congress a controversial Bush-negotiated free trade agreement (FTA) with Panama.

Redaktion: Internet-Blog zu Steuergerechtigkeit gestartet

Das Netzwerk Steuergerechtigkeit hat wenige Tage vor dem Londoner G20 Gipfel einen Internet-Blog gestartet, der über deutsche und internationale Maßnahmen zur Bekämpfung der Steuerflucht informieren soll. Die zivilgesellschaftlichen Organisationen wollen darüber berichten, was sich bei “der internationalen Steuerkooperation tut – und Vorschläge präsentieren, was zu tun wäre”.

“Baffling” banking laws must change

Idiosyncrasies in Swiss banking secrecy laws must end if the global fight against tax fraud is to have a lasting effect, a tax haven expert tells swissinfo.

Raymond Baker, director of Global Financial Integrity, a Washington-based think tank, adds that Switzerland’s recent decision to adopt international standards for cooperating on tax abusers does not go far enough.

Sickened by the shorting greed that pulled in £270m

SO I’m eating my cornflakes and I read that John Paulson, the New York hedge fund king, has made £270 million betting that the Royal Bank of Scotland share price would fall over the last four months.

Britain reluctant to join crackdown on tax havens

The UK has failed to join a new international crackdown on financial secrecy and tax havens by more than 50 countries, including Germany, France and Spain – part of a package of measures to restore the world’s economy to health.