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Search Results for financial crime

Just the FACTs: November 28, 2016

Increasingly the issues of tax avoidance and financial secrecy are drawing the attention of a broader audience.  Both issues were repeatedly mentioned throughout the presidential election by both candidates.  Donald Trump’s original tax plan even went as far as to end deferral, though updates to the plan in September omitted any position on it.  With the results of the election in, FACT and our members are analyzing what they mean for reform here at home.  More on that in the weeks to come.

The EU commission’s decision in August to force Apple to pay back $14 billion in dodged taxes to Ireland served as a wake-up call to many investors—tax avoidance is a serious risk.  A recent article in the Financial Times, explained how several major funds and investment groups are deeply concerned with companies’ increasing reliance on tax avoidance schemes.  One such fund, Nordea Asset Management—has written to a number of companies—including Alphabet and Apple.  In the letter, they ask that companies lay out their tax risks and that—if they don’t comply by January—they “will rally other investors and propose shareholder resolutions in 2017.”  Four other fund houses in the UK—representing almost £1tn of assets—have also written to the board of Alphabet to raise concerns about its tax arrangements.

 

Just the FACTs: September 2, 2016

It is estimated that between $7.6 trillion and $32 trillion in global wealth is secretly stashed offshore in tax havens.  A black hole in the world economy, offshore tax haven abuses drain invaluable resources from each and every country and undermine the rule of law worldwide—hampering our ability to act collectively to solve problems.  This week the European Union indicated that they will no longer tolerate these abuses.

Last week the European Union (EU) sent out a loud and clear message that “all companies, no matter their nationality, generating and recording their profits in an EU country should pay taxes in line with national tax laws”.   This week they followed through by showing the EU is willing to take steps to address aggressive tax avoidance and tax haven countries that facilitate the problem—ruling that Apple must pay Ireland roughly $14.5 billion in back taxes.

FACT Calls for Strengthening of Treasury’s Anti-Money Laundering Proposal to Curb Abuse of Anonymous Companies

The FACT (Financial Accountability and Corporate Transparency) Coalition submitted comments to the U.S. Treasury Department on Friday welcoming the government’s proposed rule to require U.S. banks to know the true owner of all accounts opened in their institutions as a step toward pushing dirty money out of the American financial system, while cautioning that several elements of the proposal need to be strengthened.

FACT Advocacy Days on Capitol Hill

Faith leaders, small business owners, activists, and others will be fanning out across Capitol Hill to tell lawmakers in both chambers and in both parties of the impact that offshore tax haven abuse and the use of anonymous shell companies are having on communities as the FACT (Financial Accountability and Corporate Transparency) Coalition kicks off its Advocacy Days.

It’s Always Been About Who Gets What and Why

Read the farewell blog from outgoing FACT executive director Ian Gary, who reflects on his decades-long career in international social justice advocacy, and looks toward a brighter future where democracy is better able to deliver for people and hold powerful actors accountable.