The French and Germans have suggested that new sanctions against secrecy jurisdictions are now needed since they continue to facilitate abuse of the world’s financial architecture and undermine any prospect of effective regulation of that system. They are right to do so. These places represent a ‘get of regulation free card’ for the world’s banks, [...]
These are my links for October 30th through October 31st:
Beyond the triple crisis: a green new deal | open Democracy News Analysis - Ann Pettifor correctly points out that the IMF solution for Hungary makes clear that the Washington Consensus is still in command and that nothing has yet been learned by these people [...]
Accountancy Age’s editorial this week said (and I have shortened it without losing substance, I think):
Despite all the mud slinging that has come from politicians and columnists, The Financial Reporting Council’s chief executive Paul Boyle went out of his way to deliver an early view of auditors in a speech at Mansion House. ‘So far, [...]
I have been asked by several journalists what sanctions could be taken against tax havens if, as the French and German have proposed, we wish to close these places down. Surely, they have said, this would be very difficult?
I entirely disagree. It would be relatively easy to close down secrecy jurisdictions. First of all, we [...]
PricewaterhouseCoopers gave a presentation using the above title at the conference I was at in Oslo last week.
I won’t tell you most of what they said: Chatham House rules applied.
I will tell you what I told them. I said that in my opinion they weren’t part of the problem - they designed the problem, spread [...]
These are my links for October 29th:
Bubblewrapped - have you heard the good news? - Worth looking at for credit crunch stuff
MPC's lone voice attacks Bank of England colleagues for slow response | - The truth is they did not care about the economy. They were given the remit of stopping inflation: that is [...]
That’s what Accountancy Age says might break out if Obama wins. And they note:
Tax campaigner Richard Murphy says there are some clear practical steps that could be taken to deal with havens, which are, after all, sovereign states and free to set up whatever tax rates they like.
‘Tax is not the issue,’ Murphy says, insisting [...]
I’m writing on residence and domicile at TaxationWeb:
In my opinion, the approach you adopt to the question of residence and domicile is a bit like the proverbial Marmite question. It creates clear and unambiguous divides between those involved in the debate.
You may not be surprised to hear that I suspect I’m not on the same [...]
Some might say this melodramatic:
[T]he idea that a quick recession would purge the world of past excesses is ludicrous. The danger is, instead, of a slump, as a mountain of private debt - in the US, equal to three times GDP - topples over into mass bankruptcy. The downward spiral would begin with further decay [...]
I’m curious at the speed with which people become comfortable with referring to places that they thought of as tax havens as being secrecy jurisdictions once they are introduced to the term.
The redesignation that we have introduced in the Tax Justice Network, and which is being used by some others as well, is important. The [...]
