It now looks likely that German opposition party leaders have continued to oppose the signing of a “Rubik” tax deal with Switzerland. As has been reported in Germany’s Suddeutsche Zeitung: “Despite some minor concessions from Switzerland, most of the SPD and the Greens continue to reject the proposed treaty between Germany and its neighbour. Representatives of
Read the Rest…

In view of my last post it seems important to note that the Tax Justice Network recently issued an important statement on transfer pricing. It was as follows: David Spencer, a New York attorney and senior adviser to the Tax Justice Network, has prepared the following statement about transfer pricing, which he presented at the meeting on Transfer Pricing
Read the Rest…

The publication Transfer Pricing Week, a reference for many in the field of transfer pricing, has cited TJN and ActionAid among the top five leading forces in the field of transfer pricing, an area of central importance when it comes to taxing multinational corporations. The OECD and the accountancy firm PWC were, unsurprisingly, at the top. ActionAid,
Read the Rest…

It seems to be hand wringing day on the financial crisis. The Treasury has admitted mistakes. The Bank of England is not, and yet we learn this morning that for the second year running that a banker – in this case Sir Mervyn King of the Bank of England – is to give the BBC Today Programme lecture, on
Read the Rest…

As has been noted this morning by David Hough on Labour Left, Labour lost 53% of its vote in Bradford yesterday, the Lib Dems 75% of theirs, and the Tories 80%, which is probably why there seems little crowing this morning. Now that’s not to say that this wasn’t a shock result. It was, but it’s
Read the Rest…

The FT reports today: George Osborne will challenge Labour to match a detailed co­alition programme of cuts stretching into the middle of the next parliament in an attempt to “finish the job” of eliminating the structural budget deficit by 2017. While the strategy will infuriate some Liberal Democrats, people familiar with the plan say it will underline
Read the Rest…

As the Guardian notes today, the Bank of England is facing calls to publish a full account of how it handled the financial crisis after the Treasury admitted it had made mistakes when the UK’s banking system was on the brink of collapse. It did, but the biggest mistake is ongoing. I well remember a person of senior rank
Read the Rest…

As the Guardian notes this evening: The UK is heading back into recession and will be among the slowest of the world’s largest economies to recover in the first half of this year, according to a study by the Paris-based thinktank, the OECD. I hate to say I told you so, although I will say the
Read the Rest…