speech
12-18-2008, 10:23 PM
The irony of the last event was perhaps telling of the inaction to follow. About 200 experts in international finance met last month in Monte Carlo to discuss tougher international regulations against tax evasion. Monte Carlo, in Monaco to the south of France, is one of the most conspicuous tax havens in Europe.
"At least, we were discussing tax evasion at the geographical heart of the matter," a French financial expert told IPS. Monaco, he said, "has a very bad image even among the global financial community."
Monaco, Andorra and Liechtenstein are the last three tax havens in Europe accused by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD, a grouping of 30 wealthy nations), of not applying the body's voluntary standards on financial transparency and exchange of information.
But the meeting in Monte Carlo, organised by the OECD's Financial Action Task Force (FATF), was evidence at least that the fight against tax evasion is back on the international agenda.
The OECD and the FATF have been leading a fight against tax havens since the early 1990s. Tax havens are seen as the homes of speculative hedge funds, criminal money laundering, and tax evasion.
http://waronyou.com/2008/12/little-movement-against-tax-havens/
"At least, we were discussing tax evasion at the geographical heart of the matter," a French financial expert told IPS. Monaco, he said, "has a very bad image even among the global financial community."
Monaco, Andorra and Liechtenstein are the last three tax havens in Europe accused by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD, a grouping of 30 wealthy nations), of not applying the body's voluntary standards on financial transparency and exchange of information.
But the meeting in Monte Carlo, organised by the OECD's Financial Action Task Force (FATF), was evidence at least that the fight against tax evasion is back on the international agenda.
The OECD and the FATF have been leading a fight against tax havens since the early 1990s. Tax havens are seen as the homes of speculative hedge funds, criminal money laundering, and tax evasion.
http://waronyou.com/2008/12/little-movement-against-tax-havens/