Image: International Monetary Fund The G20 Development Working Group (DWG) has released a document outlining its call to action for countries to adopt what it terms voluntary and non-binding high-level principles for combating illicit financial flows (IFFs). The DWG falls under the G20’s Sherpa track and is the key G20 forum for the discussion of Read more >
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The concept of a wealth tax is a current hot topic of discussion around the world. There are numerous arguments for and against the practice, with some saying a wealth tax might be inequitable and place more of a burden on the middle class than the rich, and others saying a moderate, progressive tax is Read more >
For those who wonder why such a fuss is made about illicit financial flows in the form of tax abuse, here is the reason – countries around the world are losing US$492-billion in tax a year because multinational corporations and wealthy individuals are able to use tax havens to avoid or underpay tax. Nearly half Read more >
Image: International Monetary Fund Illicit financial flows (IFFs) have been, and continue to be, a huge problem for developing countries, especially. They hinder countries’ ability to meet the UN sustainable development goals, because they undermine the fiscal systems which are in place to collect government revenue, and reduce the amount of funds available for development Read more >
Image: Wikimedia Commons By Tilman HoppeFirst published on the Global Anticorruption Blog Requiring public official to disclose their assets, income, and other information about their personal finances can be an important tool for curbing corruption. The effectiveness of such a program depends crucially on the ability to verify the disclosures’ accuracy and in particular the Read more >
Image: Flickr/Ryan Morrison Just weeks ago we reported on moves by UN member countries to begin the development of a UN tax convention under resolution 78/230. This would shift the responsibility for setting global tax rules from the OECD to the UN, a move which is expected to help to cut down on global tax Read more >
Test your knowledge of tax evasion, tax avoidance, bribery, and more, with this short but educational quiz developed within the project VIRTEU (Vat fraud: Interdisciplinary Research on Tax crimes in the European Union), an international research project funded by the European Commission – European Anti-Fraud Office. Tax corruption is criminal, subtle, and dangerous, yet the Read more >
Glossary of corruption-related terms Do you know your baksheesh from your bribery? Your cronyism from your collusion? Read our evolving glossary of terms relating to corruption to find out what they all mean. Sources:U4 Anti-Corruption Resource CentreTransparency International A A LOOTA CONTINUA ABUSE OF POWER / OFFICE / RESOURCES / FUNCTION ACCESS TO INFORMATION ACCOUNTABILITY Read more >
Image: Michael Kuhlmann for UNCTAD Over one trillion dollars. That’s the amount of money that Africa is estimated to have lost in illicit financial flows (IFFs) over the past 50 years (Kar and Cartwright-Smith, 2010; Africa Growth Initiative, 2020). The current estimate is an annual amount of around $50-billion, and possibly more – a significant Read more >