G20

Fair tax regimes are vital to finance well-functioning states and to enable governments to uphold citizens’ rights to basic services, such as healthcare and education.

Today, after five years of obstruction, Luxembourg and Austria agreed to increase the amount of information shared automatically by national tax authorities in Europe as of 2016.

The G20 must take necessary steps to reform the international taxation system to stop wealthy tax dodgers, beginning at its Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting this weekend (22-23 Feb) in Sydney.

Progress by G20 Finance Ministers toward tackling the issue of multinational tax avoidance has been welcomed by Oxfam Australia Chief Executive Dr. Helen Szoke, though there is a need for more specifics on how and when low-income countries will benefit.

Wealthy elites have co-opted political power to rig the rules of the economic game, undermining democracy and creating a world where the 85 richest people own the wealth of half of the world’s population, worldwide development organization Oxfam warns in a report published today. 

While the G20 have put their first nail in the coffin of corporate tax dodging, they squandered this chance to make progress towards a political solution to the Syria crisis, and have failed entirely to confront the growing problem of income inequality.

If G20 nations were hit as hard by corporate tax dodging as Africa, they’d have a $1.2 trillion hole in their budgets.

World leaders attending the G20 summit must seize this opportunity and make real progress on helping find a political solution to the Syria crisis.

Multinational tax evasion is entrenching poverty and weakening developing country economies, Oxfam has warned ahead of the G20 leaders meeting in Russia to chart a plan for boosting global economic growth.

Oxfam welcomes today’s European Parliament vote in favor of legislation which will oblige EU-listed and non-listed big oil, gas, mining and logging companies to declare payments they make i