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Europe’s 20 biggest banks are registering over a quarter of their profits in tax havens – well out of proportion to the level of real economic activity that occurs there, according to a new report by Oxfam and the Fair Finance Guide International today.

Rising inequality could set the fight against poverty back by decades, Oxfam warned today as it published a new report showing that the number of billionaires worldwide has more than doubled since the financial crisis. 

The European Parliament is right to call out EU governments for their failure to agree the reforms needed to tackle large-scale tax avoidance, said Oxfam in reaction to a key vote on tax in the European Parliament.

Over 50 leading financiers have expressed their support for a European Financial Transaction Tax (FTT) ahead of a meeting of Finance Ministers in Brussels next week. In an open letter to European leaders, the financiers argue the FTT will reduce financial instability and raise significant additional government revenue.

Despite the recent spate of economic growth, Africa remains afflicted by entrenched poverty and alarmingly high and rising inequality. This paper uses the Reducing Inequality Index (CRI) developed by Oxfam and Development Finance to produce a ranking of African countries on their policies to reduce the gap between rich and poor.

A report by the Greens/European Free Alliance reveals that Inditex, owners of the global fashion retailer Zara, avoided paying €585 million in taxes in Europe between 2011 and 2014.

Oxfam dismissed claims by the government of Bermuda that there are serial errors in the agency's report on the world’s worst tax havens today.  The UK overseas territory earned the top spot in Oxfam's list of corporate tax havens because of its corporate income tax rate of zero percent and its lack of enthusiasm for international cooperation against tax avoidance. In 2012, US multinational corporations reported more profits in Bermuda than in Japan, China, Germany and France combined.Esme Berkhout, tax policy advisor for Oxfam said:“Bermuda’s claim that Oxfam’s…

The upcoming EU tax haven blacklist has to include at least 35 countries, including notorious tax havens such as Switzerland and Bermuda, in order to be effective, Oxfam finds in a new report published today. The analysis also shows that at least 4 EU countries would be blacklisted if the EU were to apply its own criteria to member states.

It is shameful to see European banks again involved in a major global money laundering scandal. 

The criteria adopted by EU Finance Ministers for screening countries over tax abuse will be of little to no use in ending the era of tax havens.