Gordon Brown, UK Prime Minister, brought forward a suggestion at the G20 summit, to instate a global foreign currency transaction tax on banks (commonly referred to as a Tobin Tax). The idea created an almost immediate split of opinion within the G20. At the G20 Summit on November 7th, in St. Andrews, Scotland, the UK Prime Minister suggested banks be levied with a tax on their financial transactions. Gordon Brown made it clear that he wishes to see the burden of bank bailouts ... Read More

Since the April G20 summit, over 50 new TIEA agreements have been signed across the globe. The London G20 Summit, held on the 2nd of April this year, heralded an unprecedented wave of Tax Information Exchange Agreement (TIEA). In what was described as “revolutionary” by Angel Gurría, OECD Secretary-General, the number of completed TIEAs has almost doubled since their inception in late 2000. Since the G20 summit, and subsequent global push for greater tax transparency and compliance, the following 53 agreements have been ... Read More

The Canadian Revenue Agency have announced that they will enter into discussion with Swiss bank UBS in regards to possible tax evasion information. Following swiftly upon news that the US Government and UBS had reached a settlement in their offshore account tax evasion dispute, the Canadian Revenue Agency (CRA) has announced that they too will engage in discussions with UBS in regards to divulging information about Canadian national tax evaders. On the 21st of August it was announced by Jean-Pierre Blackburn, Canadian National Revenue ... Read More