12 June 2013
Urge for collective action against corporate tax avoidance ahead of G8 summit
UK Prime Minister David Cameron has made curbing tax avoidance the central theme of next week’s G8 summit. In May, the G7 industrialized nations agreed on the need for collective action against tax avoidance, and the EU followed suit by promising action against aggressive tax planning used by multinationals to minimize their tax payments, but low-tax Austria is yet to confirm its participation in the scheme.
The promise for collective action comes after widespread public debate over corporate tax minimization policies and the publication of figures suggesting that multinational corporations use tax havens to deny developing economies revenues needed for public services. According to the OECD, developing countries lose three times more money to tax havens each year than they receive in aid. Recent reactions by developing nations, including treaty cancellations by Mongolia, however, are dangerous unilateral actions further stressing the need to reach agreement on how to deal with tax avoidance in the forthcoming G8 and G20 meetings, an OECD representative said to BBC.
Source: The Guardian | Cameron calls in tax havens ahead of G8 summit in June
Source: The Guardian | UK's top companies condemned for prolific use of tax havens
Source: The Guardian | G7 agrees action needed against tax evasion, says George Osborne
Source: The Guardian | Tax havens are entrenching poverty in developing countries
Source: BBC | EU leaders in drive against tax evasion at Brussels summit
Source: BBC | Osborne: G7 agree to target tax evasion and avoidance
Soruce: BBC | Tax avoidance: Developing countries take on multinationals
Source: ActionAid | Tax Justice Policy