Links Jun 18

Transfer pricing: what have we learned in three days in Helsinki? Tax Research UK

Jun 15 - Notes from Richard Murphy as the TJN seminar on Transfer Pricing draws to a close. A seminar report will be available on the TJN blog soon.

Global Witness calls for action to end hidden company ownership in light of money laundering accusations Global Witness

Jun 17 - New report, Grave Secrecy, shows how urgent action is needed to address the current ease with which the UK and other major economies are used to launder the proceeds of corruption, tax evasion and other crimes. The report is fascinating reading - revealing such scenarios as the identity of a dead man from Russia being used as the front for a UK company.

New documents detail alleged grand corruption in Equatorial Guinea Global Witness

Jun 12 -"A new US Department of Justice court filing has made substantial allegations of corruption against Teodorin Obiang, the son of the president of Equatorial Guinea ... In a number of cases Teodorin used shell companies to hide his identity and ownership of various assets, including his $30 million mansion."  

Questions over London-listed miner ENRC’s Congo deals The Bureau of Investigative Journalism

Jun 12 - A need for greater scrutiny of UK mining deals in the Democratic Republic of Congo has been highlighted by campaigners questioning the use of opaque off-shore companies to buy some of the country’s most valuable assets. The report references the Global Witness memo to shareholders in ENRC.

Letter to President Calderόn on Tax Haven Abuse Prior to Los Cabos G20 Summit

Call from the Global Campaign to End Tax Haven Secrecy - "28,000 individuals around the world have now signed the global petition calling on you as President of Mexico and Chair of the G20 to show leadership at the Summit next week and promote measures to end tax haven secrecy."

The G20: Playing Outside the Big Tent - Implications for Rio+20 Heinrich Boell Foundation

Jun 8 - This paper explores the ways in which G20 Summit affect the outcomes of “Rio+20” and whether these two global events might be mutually reinforcing or work at cross-purposes. 

G20 Update - Monthly Newsletter Heinrich Boell Foundation

Jun - Explores Implications of the Alliance between the G20 and the Business-20 (B20) - it describes the B20’s recommendations to the G20, including those that would expand the role of transnational corporations in global policy-making.

End tax havens as soon as possible Analítica (In Spanish)

Jun 17 - Discusses inequality and tax havens, observing that the G20's claim's to confront tax havens are an illusion. Cites TJN's Financial Secrecy Index.

Germany's SPD Set On Opposing Swiss Tax Deal Tax-News

Jun 18 -Developments on the German situation regarding Rubik - "The Social Democrats are calling for greater concessions from the Confederation and for tougher action to be taken against tax evaders."

Special treatment for tax obligations of big business Handelsblatt (In German)

Jun 17 - On corporate tax dodging in Germany, citing TJN's Markus Meinzer. Notes that the momentum of the tax justice movement is similar to how the environmental movement developed.

‘As many holes as a Swiss cheese’: the UK tax system loses money abroad The Bureau of Investigative Journalism

Jun 11 -  On how  a recent Sunday Times investigation revealed that Vodafone paid no corporation tax in Britain last year. Also refers to the earlier undercover sting by the Bureau and Private Eye that revealed how Vodafone’s office in Switzerland appears to be little more than a shell, indicating their main purpose is tax avoidance.

See also: Vodafone Vindicated In UK Tax Settlement Review Tax-News

Jun 15 -"The National Audit Office concluded that Vodafone's GBP1.25bn (USD1.9bn) settlement with the UK tax authorities in 2010 was “good” from the perspective of the UK taxpayer and "represented fair value for the wider taxpaying community"." TJN has blogged this case on various occasions, such as here.

See also:

UK 'Sweetheart' Tax Deals 'Reasonable', Says Watchdog Tax-News

Jun 15 - "The UK National Audit Office (NAO) has concluded that the settlements reached by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) in five large tax cases were "reasonable" but has expressed concern about the opacity of the processes used by the tax department in reaching these settlements."

Quick Hits in State News: Massachusetts Movie Subsidies, Oklahoma Short on Transit Funds, and More Citizens for Tax Justice

Jun 7 - An interesting look around the USA at various tax scenarios.