tax justice

The OECD's tax data shows that more and more governments are relying on taxes that fall hardest on the poorest in society while letting big business and wealthy individuals off the hook.

The guilty verdicts for two defendants in the #LuxLeaks whistleblowers trial means that tax dodgers will be emboldened.

The package of measures announced by governments attending the anti-corruption summit in London today will not stop tax cheats, said Oxfam. Politicians from over 40 countries, along with World Bank and IMF representatives, attended the conference.

Oxfam International Executive Director, Winnie Byanyima, will use the WEF Africa meeting in Kigali, Rwanda this week to call for a radical overhaul in the way African countries manage the income from natural resources, an end to tax havens and the use of progressive taxation to fight inequality.

More than 300 leading economists from 30 countries have today written to world leaders warning that there is no economic justification for allowing tax havens to continue, and urging them to bring an end to offshore financial secrecy. The letter comes ahead of the UK Government’s summit on offshore corruption in London on Thursday, which politicians from 40 countries as well as World Bank and IMF representatives are expected to attend.

In an open letter, a large coalition of civil society organizations and trade unions, including Oxfam, is asking European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker for a more ambitious proposal on tax transparency.

“The Panama Papers give us a disturbing look into the murky world of tax dodging, a problem that governments and international institutions refuse to tackle head-on. The true scandal is that many of the cases uncovered are not always illegal, but instead, fully legal practices that ruthless abuse a weak and inadequate tax system."

G20 Finance Ministers must support more fundamental reforms to the global tax system as part of their plans to deliver sustainable economic growth said Oxfam today.