The recent G20 Summit saw a focus on combating international tax evasion, with marked progress made in international cooperation on the issue. The fight against tax evasion was an important topic at the G20 Summit held in Cannes on November 3rd, with all participating countries pledging their support to the OECD’s Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters, which was signed by Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, the Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and Turkey. ... Read More

As the USA looks for means to raise tax revenues, new research indicates that profit repatriation tax breaks are a poor solution which could do more harm than good for the economy. According to a new report released on October 10th by the Subcommittee on Investigations of the US Senate, profit repatriation tax breaks do not benefit the national economy, and will not raise tax revenues or employment levels. The report examined 20 large US registered companies that utilized the US government’s tax ... Read More

A new study has ranked the countries of the world, based on their attractiveness as a business destination, and has shown Canada and New Zealand to be at the top of the list. The international media giant Forbes has published their 2011 list ranking the best countries in the world in which to do business. The listed nations were ranked based on several economic, social and political factors, such as trade and monetary freedom, levels corruption, personal freedom, tax burdens, and investor protection. ... Read More

LONDON - Financial secrecy across the world is not seeing any noticeable declines, and Switzerland is currently leading the pack as the least transparent country in the world. According to a new study published on October 4th banking secrecy remains to be an internationally prolific and present issue. The study, which was published by the nonpartisan Tax Justice Network, contained a newly compiled global Financial Secrecy Index which ranks countries around the world based on the severity of their current financial secrecy ... Read More

A group of financial transparency advocacy organizations have sent a letter to the US Treasury, saying that national banks need to tighten up their anti money laundering practices. In a letter sent to the US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner the Financial Accountability and Corporate Transparency Coalition (FACT) has called for national bank regulators to conduct an extensive review on the anti-money laundering practices conducted by financial institutions. The letter, which was published on September 13th, refers to a review recently conducted in ... Read More

France and Germany will once again take up the banner of global financial stability, with plans to re-propose the idea of a financial transaction tax at the upcoming G20 summit in November. In an interview published by French media on August 28th the Finance Minister of France Francois Baroin said that representatives from the German and French governments are now working on a new proposal for a international financial transactions tax. The Minister said that the governments of France and Germany are determined to ... Read More

The UK could soon follow Germany in signing a tax deal with Switzerland in order to reduce the occurrence of cross border tax evasion while allowing Switzerland to maintain its bank confidentiality regulations. The president of the Swiss Bankers Association Patrick Odier has revealed that Swiss and UK tax authorities are only a few weeks away from concluding negotiations over a new cooperative tax deal. Under proposals raised in the negotiations, Swiss banks would be responsible for applying a flat rate withholding ... Read More