Links May 10

Global action on tax evasion has largely failed, study shows Guardian
May 7 - "Niels Johannesen and Gabriel Zucman, academics who were granted access to a rarely seen breakdown of BIS data, concluded: "So far, the G20 tax haven crackdown has … largely failed … Treaties have led to a modest relocation of bank deposits between tax havens but have not triggered significant flows of funds out of tax havens."

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New Report: The End of Bank Secrecy? An Evaluation of the G20 Tax Haven Crackdown Task Force Blog
May 7 - "The fight against offshore tax evasion has backfired. Information exchange agreements – the main policy tool that G20 countries use to curb tax evasion – have proven to be largely ineffective."

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Country by country reporting is essential for detection of tax avoidance, say MEPs Tax Journal
May 8 - "The resolution noted that the scale of tax evasion and avoidance ‘undermines citizens’ trust and confidence in the fairness and legitimacy of tax collection’; and highlighted ‘the need to generalise automatic information exchange and to extend the scope of the Savings Taxation Directive in order to effectively end banking secrecy’."

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The European Parliament wants stronger measures against tax evasion Eurodad
May 4 - "The resolution of 19 April goes far in echoing Eurodad’s demand in calling for Automatic Information Exchange (AIE), Country-By-Country Reporting (CBCR), a mandatory Common Consolidated Corporate Tax Base (CCCBT) amongst other useful suggestions."

Offshore avoidance and evasion cause serious harm, says Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe Tax Journal
May 8 - "The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe has warned that ‘massive’ offshore tax evasion and avoidance cause ‘serious harm to the public interest’ in Europe and elsewhere, and particularly in developing countries."

Glencore ‘should explain potentially corrupt deals in Congo’ Global Witness
May 5 - Press release on Global Witness's investigation into Glencore’s investments in Congo.

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Mining firms face scrutiny over Congo deals Guardian
May 8 - "Campaigners argue natural resources exploited to benefit multinationals rather than local population."

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London's links to African Corruption CNN
May 7 - "Global Witness' Robert Palmer talks about how Africa's corruption is funneled and laundered through London."

India’s point of principle Tax Research UK
May 9 - Richard Murphy comments -- "As the New York Daily News reports: India vowed Tuesday to push ahead with controversial legislation allowing it to retroactively tax such companies as British mobile phone giant Vodafone over cross-border business deals..."