The IMF and the fight against tax evasion
The IMF chief, Christine Lagarde, hailed the decision of the Group of Twenty (G20) to take some measures likely to ease the countries access to information regarding the identity of the people hiding behind shell companies in fiscal havens.
România Internațional, 18.04.2016, 13:12
Finance ministers from the G20 leading economies who gathered in Washington DC last week for the spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank agreed on a crackdown on international tax dogging, in the wake of the Panama Papers scandal. The Group has unanimously agreed that transparency in managing international finances is the only efficient instrument in fighting tax evasion, money laundering and the financing of terrorism. We remind you that an investigation conducted jointly by around one hundred publications worldwide has exposed the offshore holdings of an impressive number of politicians, celebrities and criminals.
These giant leaks of offshore financial records, exposing a global array of corruption and crime, have been grouped under the name of Panama Papers. Against this background, the G20 countries have agreed that secrecy around offshore companies will be lifted and an international blacklist of tax havens will be drawn up. The Group has called on the OECDs Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes to take some measures, by October, which should ease states access to information on the identity of the people hiding behind shell companies in tax havens.
The IMF chief, Christine Lagarde, hailed the initiative, saying that international efforts to fight tax evasion have been constant in the past few years. Lagarde has said: The IMF very strongly welcomes and supports this new momentum to fight corruption and tax evasion… we at the IMF will question whether the technical assistance that we provide to anti-money laundering and to counter-terrorism financing can be better leveraged to identify what more is needed in terms of implementation.
According to NGOs and the media, the amounts hidden in tax havens between 2008 and 2014 exceed the GDP of Spain, Russia and South Korea put together. In Romania, authorities have decided to open an investigation into the Romanian citizens whose names are mentioned in the Panama Papers. Over 100 natural persons and companies are currently investigated.
(Translated by E. Enache)
