tax justice

In reaction to the Stiglitz G20 Extraordinary Committee Report on Inequality.

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, former South African President Thabo Mbeki, former Senegalese Prime Minister Aminata Touré, and economists Joseph Stiglitz, Jayati Ghosh and Gabriel Zucman today delivered a powerful and unequivocal message: the global oligarchy must be challenged through fair taxation of the super-rich. 

Today, the European Parliament voted on its position on a carbon border tariff for companies exporting to the EU (the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism). In response, Chiara Putaturo, Oxfam EU Tax expert, said: “Forcing the poorest countries to pay this tariff is unfair. Europeans are responsible for double the carbon emissions as those in the poorest half of the world since 1990. This decision allows rich countries to pass the buck to those least responsible for the climate crisis.

G20 Finance Ministers are expected to give the green light to a new round of negotiations on international tax reforms at a meeting in Fukuoka, Japan on 8 - 9 June 2019.

The European Commission has proposed legislation that recognises the rights and importance of all whistleblowers in the EU, including those reporting on tax malpractices. Oxfam welcomes the protection mechanisms that will establish safe channels for whistleblowers to report within and outside of their organisation.

Today the European Parliament adopted the report by its Panama Papers inquiry committee and voted in favor of recommendations aimed at stopping corporate tax avoidance across the European Union. Oxfam welcomes the Parliament's call for EU member states to adopt the reforms needed to end corporate tax abuses.

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.

One year on from the Panama Papers scandal and our political leaders are still not standing up to tax havens.