Comments on: Tax havens harm Africa, and accountants could stop it

By: Tax Research LLP

Tax Research LLP — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 14:20:01 +0000

Alex

You are right - 100% right

Richard

By: Alex Redmond

Alex Redmond — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 13:30:22 +0000

Could this be because tax avoidance/mitigation schemes are so incredibly profitable for accountants?

By: Tax Research LLP

Tax Research LLP — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 10:48:48 +0000

Africa Boy

Looks like we’re 98% in agreement

You just don’t like Manuel

I think his commensta re fantastic and incredibly helpful

And the analysis we’re as one

Why not join the Tax Justice Network?

Richard

By: African Boy

African Boy — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 00:19:50 +0000

My last comment:
does no one notice the humbug of Trevor Manuel agreeing to repay billions of apartheid war debt AND THEN complaining about capital flight! Misdirection if ever there was such a thing.

By: African Boy

African Boy — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 00:10:14 +0000

So you like asking easy questions? Perhaps its the university teacher in you!
key issues:
1. Corporate tax abuse through transfer pricing and abusive evasion with profits returning to the home country; the amounts exceed all AID and other public transfers by a large multiple.
2. Western government’s knowing complicity in this looting; throughout all the reform processes and IMF restructuring that they made no effort to improve local tax administration monitoring of foreign corporations is a smoking gun;
3. western government, economists and intellectuals construct a smokescreen focussing on corruption, tax havens and accountants/lawyers that divert attention from corporate/western government plunder.
4. Iran/ contra where the money laundering was done by the White House; Elf/Acquitaine where the French President, his Chief of the Security Services and he Finance Minister engaged in systematic looting for private benefit of African oil revenues; Al Yamama arms deal where the fraud investigation is stopped by the British PM no less to prevent the leak of venerable names of the British establishment receiving backhanders…( I name only the better reported instances) none of this is caused by tax havens, accountants/lawyers etc.
5. the western citizenry needs to be alerted to what is being done in its name .. the unlimited looting of Africa.. this is a good starting point..
6. greater focus on regulated markets .. it is market abuse that allows excess profits from which tax evasion arises. A competitive regulated market would reduce profits to normal and eliminate most (but not all) of the evasion.

In terms of positive steps I would confirm: western citizen awareness and greater focus on regulated markets to prevent monopoly abuse by foreign corporations would go a long way to reduce the problem to an everyday issue of tax administration ..

By: Tax Research LLP

Tax Research LLP — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 21:17:57 +0000

OK, we’re converging

What’s the key issue for you?

Richard

By: African boy

African boy — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 19:13:41 +0000

Careful … I said ‘not the key issue’. I did not say it was not an issue. The billions lost in taxation by foreign MNC’s leads to unsustainable econmies and the policies of IMF lead to devaluation together the only rationale economic choice is ‘capital flight’. One should address the key problem not the symptom. I never criticised Manuel for focussing attention on capital flight. I criticised him for agreeing to repay apartheid debt and implicitly for failing to address corporate tax abuse. In one African country over 10 years the oil companies only paid $500m in taxation!

By: Tax Research LLP

Tax Research LLP — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 17:54:20 +0000

African Boy

I agree SA citizens did and do rush their money out of SA. We are concerned about that. So is SA. I cannot see why you use that as reason to criticise Trvor Manuel. Have you not heard of the Scoirpions who tackle such abuse?

As fdor saying capital flight is not an issue for the rest of Africa, respectfully, that is absurd. What is your evidence?

And please, if this debate is to continue confirm your identity.

Richard

By: African Boy

African Boy — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 01:01:18 +0000

Trevor Manuel is the guy who agreed to pay off the western banks for their illegal loans to Apartheid South Africa … shifting a war burden onto the poor, making the victors pay for illegal loans to used to arm murders. (US did not honour Confederate debt!) Trevor may have credibility with you…. but not much in most of Africa. I am not aware of any place that he has faced and challenged the correct analysis. There has been tax loss from SA during all the years of Apartheid… but it was mostly not from foreign corporations but from South Africans rushing their money out and naturally into tax havens (I witnessed this process from the UK)… convinced that apartheid would fail … so in SA they focus on local capital flight … this is not the key issue for the rest of Africa … one African finance Minister who followed the correct analysis was promptly assassinated …so it is not always good for one’s health. In any case Trevor is a supporter of foreign corporations (they recommended him to Mandela!) so it is unlikely he would embarass them.

By: Tax Research LLP

Tax Research LLP — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 20:34:23 +0000

Trevor Manuel does not agree with you.

He does agree with me.

I take that as persuasive.

Why is he wrong?