The OECD has put out a press release this morning saying:
So I thought "Wow, that's amazing."
And then I noted it was full of reports like this one, on the British Virgin Islands:
The Virgin Islands has made progress in improving its legal and regulatory framework in order to be able to effectively exchange tax information. The availability of information on trusts and the availability of reliable accounting records is not yet ensured however. Also, the authorities do not have sufficient powers to obtain all foreseeably relevant information in order to respond to international requests. The Virgin Islands has not been assessed as ready to move to the next phase of its evaluation.
And then I realised there was no connection at all between the headline and what the OECD have actually found in most of its latest per reviews of tax havens, which show they are far from tax transparent.
My suggestion to the OECD? Keep the headline for when it's true. Right now it isn't.
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Sir, please do read the report on the UK to be found via here http://www.oecd.org/document/53/0,3746,en_21571361_44315115_48544565_1_1_1_1,00.html and tell us what you think it is worth.
And also: do not expect too much from the forthcoming report of the Global Forum to the G20 – it will be without any valuable information. As if someone wanted to hide something. Hence also the quite hidden press statement.
I regret I’ll have to beg a copy first…..
Any offers anyone?
“the availability of reliable accounting records is not yet ensured”
And hardly likely to be whilst the big four (or is it five?) have anything to do with it.
Reliability and transparency and is something they don’t do.
Although you’re disappointed by the actualite of such “developments”, it seems the outcry for better transparency is making a few people (who advise those who wish to secrete their wealth offshore) a bit jittery. It’s the “End of financial paradise” no less.
I know you’re real busy, but its a pity we don’t have access to a graduate student who can’t think what to research for his MPhil, because it would be great to examine the semantics and logic of what is propounded here, and how it relates to any notion of tax justice.
Is it just that they’re saying:
“We’ve always had tax loopholes we could exploit – stop closing the loopholes – pleeeaaasssee. Why persecute us?”
It’s defending abuse or privilege
It’s age old
But it’s not a definition of freedom