The G20 is to sign a convention on tax evasion on Friday.
I have not a clue what is in it, if I am honest. I know it is additional to the attack on tax havens it is also proposing.
It is welcome, nonetheless, although I do not have high hopes for it. As I have said on Twitter this morning:
If the Euro crisis has proved anything it is that tax evasion brings down nations, economies, markets and societies. We need tax justice.
Now, will the G20 really deliver, starting with:
1) automatic information exchange from tax havens and between all states (unless barred on human rights grounds)
2) country-by-country reporting
3) full beneficial ownership of all companies and trusts on public record?
That's where we need to be going. I have a feeling they're not there yet, which is why they will fail us, again.
Thanks for reading this post.
You can share this post on social media of your choice by clicking these icons:
You can subscribe to this blog's daily email here.
And if you would like to support this blog you can, here:
Given that this is about evasion rather than avoidance I expect it to be window dressing and probably a deliberate distraction.
Evasion as such is already under attack in most developed economies. Avoidance, in contrast, is seen by regulators and participants as legitimate.
The failure of OECD to attack avoidance is damaging the global economy and highly irresponsible — but understandable give the sort of people in control.