Links May 14

Tax Treaties - How people engaging in illicit money benefit from Swiss bank accounts Blog steuergerechtigkeit / TJN-Germany Blog (In German)
May 10 - News report from plusminus/ARD, on the loopholes and deficiencies of "Rubik", including an interview with TJN's Markus Meinzer. See some recent TJN commentary on Rubik here, and read TJN's analysis.

CEOs of Tax Dodging Corporations Ask For Personal Tax Breaks, Too  Citizens for Tax Justice
May 10 - "The CEOs of 18 large companies have published an open letter to the Treasury Secretary seeking to extend tax breaks on investment income that overwhelmingly benefit the very wealthy ... of these 18 CEOs, four of them head corporations which have paid less than zero in federal income taxes in recent years, in spite of consistent profits."

Arrest Is Warning on Secret Offshore Accounts Wall Street Journal
May 11 - "In a fresh warning to U.S. taxpayers who haven't confessed secret offshore accounts, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York and the Internal Revenue Service announced the arrest of Michael Little, a British investment adviser who allegedly helped several members of a prominent American family conceal more than $10 million in Swiss bank accounts for 11 years."

Australia: Tax and investment scheme scammers preying on young through social media sites Adelaide Now
May 13 - "Dodgy tax and investment scheme promoters are hoping to lure younger and first-time taxpayers as they target social media sites with so-called wealth creation schemes ... Others can exploit your social or environmental conscience by promising you large upfront tax deductions for donations to charity or 'green initiatives'." Hat tip: Offshore Watch.

New Zealand: Key backs off 'hub' The Dominion Post
May 13 - On - "an ambitious plan to compete directly with tax havens Luxembourg, the Cayman Islands and Ireland to host international funds investing in the Asia-Pacific region."

Soldiers may be deployed to protect Italian tax offices Telegraph
May 14 - Violent action against tax offices and officials as Italy struggles through austerity measures, with massive clampdown on tax dodging.

Foreign banks freezing out U.S. millionaires Washington Post / Bloomberg
May 13 - Foreign financial instituations are increasingly adopting policy of ceasing private banking business with U.S. persons - fallout of  U.S. efforts to pierce bank secrecy and clamp down on tax evasion, and the impending implementation of FATCA,

Money laundering fears leap after Arab Spring swissinfo
May 14 - "The number of reports on suspicious money transactions in Switzerland received by the Money Laundering Reporting Office Switzerland (MROS) increased by some 40 per cent last year, following the Arab Spring uprisings. Part of the reason for the increase was a new requirement for Swiss banks and other financial institutions to report shady deals surrounding foreign political events."

Glencore proves investors can't undermine the board if they're not allowed to dig too deep The Observer
May 13 - "The London-listed commodities giant got through its inaugural AGM unscathed – perhaps because it took place in a small theatre in Switzerland ... Only a few dozen people bothered to take in the delights of Zug ... Among them were protesters publicising Global Witness's allegations that Glencore may have had a role in the secret and possibly corrupt sale of stakes in mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), but they were outnumbered by policemen."

You Pay - Close Tax Havens Blog steuergerechtigkeit / TJN-Germany Blog (In German)
May 14 - See this short video from attac.