Recent progress achieved through creating a global minimum corporate tax must be complemented by greater tax transparency and enforcement. As the saying goes, “sunlight is the best disinfectant.”
With the global climate summit COP26 just concluded and the Summit for Democracy – with its emphasis on combating corruption – right around the corner, now is the perfect time for activists to bring together the fights against corruption and climate change.
Operating in financial secrecy, bad actors are free to profit from environmental degradation, and in doing so undermine the global fight against climate change. As global leaders make new commitments this week at COP26, it’s time that politicians promise to shine a light on global financial secrecy, particularly the use of anonymous shell companies, as a crucial climate reform.
Tax and climate activists have a rare opportunity to join forces on public country-by-country reporting, a key tool to ending the global race to the bottom and unveiling unsustainable business practices.
This is a prime opportunity for climate and tax activists to work together at the domestic and international level to further tax reform to equitably raise funds for domestic and global climate investments, to reduce incentives for pollution offshoring, and to support emission reductions around the world.
The past week’s revelations through the “Pandora Papers” – the largest exposé to-date of how global politicians, business leaders, celebrities, and multinational companies use and abuse the “offshore” financial system – are both shocking and surprisingly familiar.
