ActionAid calls on governments to end tax evasion

Pandora Papers is the world’s latest tax evasion talk

ActionAid International on Tuesday called on governments around the world to step up efforts to stamp out tax evasion by the economic and political elite.

In a statement signed by Julia Sánchez, Secretary General of ActionAid International and copied to the Ghana News Agency, said: “It is totally unacceptable that governments claim that they cannot afford health care, quality education or a green transition away from fuels when they allow the plundering of such vast resources by wealthy elites and corrupt politicians. “

ActionAid’s statement was in reaction to “The Pandora Papers”, one of the biggest financial document leaks, which revealed in the largest mine of leaked offshore data, heavy use of tax havens and tax secrets of the richest and most powerful in the world. .

These dubious practices, the statement said, were facilitated by banks and the financial sector who serve as secrecy keepers in tax havens.

The statement said: “The Pandora Papers are set to expose more tax scandals, featuring policymakers using shoddy tax havens and more loopholes in tax law that politicians will claim to be mistakes at. rectify, rather than there by design. “

According to ActionAid, “this underlines more than ever the need for serious action on tax justice, including better tax transparency”.

Therefore, ActionAid International called for “public records of beneficial ownership, in all jurisdictions, accounts and entities, to prevent crooks from setting up shell companies to hide wealth in tax havens.”

ActionAid’s statement said it should be mandatory for countries to exchange vital information to help end the practice and explained that the public country-by-country reports on corporate tax payments and key financial data would help improve transparency and reduce the secrecy that allows these loopholes. .

“A 25 percent global minimum corporate tax rate would also be an effective way to prevent potential tax revenues from being hidden in tax havens,” the statement said.

The statement said: “Five years have passed since the Panama Papers which revealed questionable tax transactions of a Panama-based law firm and its clients, and eight years since the G20 mandated the BEPS process, intended to end tax evasion and to meet people’s demands for tax justice and fairness.

“Billionaires increased their wealth by US $ 3.9 trillion in the first year of the pandemic, while workers around the world lost US $ 3.7 trillion in incomes. As inequalities continue to increase, exacerbated by the COVID-19 crisis, states more than ever need fair and progressive tax rules, ”he noted.

According to the press release, “The Panama Papers, LuxLeaks and now the Pandora Papers are just the tip of a tax evasion iceberg. If we are to avoid the fate of the Titanic, we must change course now and demand tax justice once and for all ”.

ActionAid has long campaigned on tax justice, outlining ways in which governments could fairly and gradually leverage the tax revenues of high net worth individuals and giant corporations.