Links Jul 15

US probe targets Credit Suisse swissinfo
Jul 15 - 'Swiss bank Credit Suisse says it is being investigated by the United States Department of Justice over former cross-border private banking services to US customers. The bank said it received a letter notifying it that it was being probed by the DoJ on Thursday.... It added that it had been reported that the “US authorities are conducting a broader industry inquiry”.'

US abandons tax deal talks with Switzerland -paper Reuters
The United States has ended talks with Switzerland aimed at settling a row over investigations into Swiss banks accused of helping Americans dodge taxes, a newspaper reported on Sunday.

Wall street reform act deserves implementation now The Hill
Jul 14 - Op-ed by Monique Perry-Danziger of Global Financial Integrity on legislative movements in the U.S. - 'Instituting Section 1504 [of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act] and passing the Stop Tax Haven Abuse Act would strengthen U.S. and foreign government tax collection, inform global investment strategies, and foster good governance in the developing world -- a key component in a stable global economic recovery.'

U.S.: Both sides of Debt Ceiling Talks Propose Increasing the Budget Deficit - President’s and GOP’s Positions Both Include Greater Tax Cuts than Spending Cuts - Citizens for Tax Justice

Jul 14 - 'A new fact sheet from Citizens for Tax Justice explains the problem that both sides [the President and Congress] want to extend all or most of the expiring Bush tax cuts. And neither side has proposed spending cuts or tax increases large enough to offset the tremendous cost of such an extension...'

Negative 15.8% Tax Rate Not Low Enough for GE: CEO Immelt Calls for Amnesty for Corporate Tax Dodgers Citizens for Tax Justice
Jul 13 - J'effrey Immelt, CEO of the company famous for making profits of $26 billion from 2006 through 2010 and receiving tax benefits from the IRS of $4.1 billion over that period, has endorsed the ... "repatriation holiday".'

USA Today: Who exactly has the tax target on them? Citizens for Tax Justice
Jul 13 - Millionaires and billionaires. Owners of corporate jets. Hedge fund managers. Oil and gas profiteers. Those are the people President Obama says he's targeting as he seeks to raise revenue for what could be a historic deficit-reduction agreement. But, ... all taxpayers could lose money in the deal as their tax rates rise or they move into higher tax brackets.

The Edge: Ireland has ‘no problem’ with U2 tax status Tax Research UK
Jul 15 - Richard Murphy reports on 'a great article in The First Post Daily - ‘The Edge’ – Bono’s best mate – has lashed out in the Baltimore Sun (for reasons best known to himself) describing "the allegations about the band’s tax matters as “totally false and possibly libellous”... Oh dear, he still doesn’t get it, does he?'

Support for tax dodgers: Alliance Sud criticises Switzerland's double taxation agreements Eurodad
Jul 15 - 'New Swiss double taxation agreements with developing countries provide for international administrative assistance against tax evasion by individuals. They simultaneously limit the scope for partner countries to tax financial transfers by multinational corporations.' See original here, and Mark Herkenrath's related article in Tax Justice Focus.

President points to “tax crisis” with Italy swissinfo
Jul 15 - 'Swiss President Micheline Calmy-Rey says that negotiations with Italy to resolve a tax spat are still at a delicate stage. Italy has been particularly critical about Switzerland’s tax practices and traditional banking secrecy.'

Swiss Banks Said to Be Close to Settlement in German Tax Evasion Dispute Bloomberg
Jul 15 - 'Swiss banks may initially pay at least 4 billion Swiss francs ($4.9 billion) to settle a dispute over tax evasion by wealthy German clients'