Norway: 15,000 signatures on tax havens

Guest blog by Sigrid Klæboe Jacobsen, Chair, Tax Justice Network - Norge

Norway's Finance Minister Sigbjørn Johnsen on June 14 received 15.000 signatures from Norwegian Church Aid and their youth organisation Changemaker. The signatories demand that Norwegian companies don't dodge taxes in developing countries, and implement country-by-country reporting.

In the pouring rain, the minister was given a spade and had to try to find the hidden treasure buried in a makeshift tax haven island. He dug and found some gold coins, and the signatures.

The Minister agreed that the tools he had been given to unveil the hidden money was insufficient and stated that:

"This is very important demand. Currently there is a process in the EU on introducing stricter rules for companies. If the EU should not be able to reach an agreement, we are prepared to introduce such rules unilaterally."

See more pictures, and more details, here.

Congratulations to our member organisations The Norwegian Church Aid and Changemaker for their impressive work in collecting this astonishing number of signatures!