Daily Times
May 1, 2021
Pakistan has called for international cooperation on tax matters to help fund cross-border public goods and crises-resilient health systems for pandemic recovery and achieving sustainable development.
In his remarks at ECOSOC’s special meeting on international tax cooperation, President of the UN Economic and Social Council and Pakistani Ambassador Munir Akram underscored the need for member states to work together to stop the drainage of resources for sustainable development caused by illicit financial flows, as well as corporate and personal tax avoidance and evasion.
Ambassador Akram said that there is an urgency to put an end to the ‘tax havens’ which enable profit-shifting practices by the big multinational corporations. He said a minimum global corporate tax could provide a way forward.
We Must Continue Fighting Illicit Financial Flows from Africa afrodad.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from afrodad.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
SYDNEY and KUALA LUMPUR, Apr 1 2021 (IPS) - Illicit financial flows (IFFs) hurt all countries, both developed and developing. But poor countries suffer relatively more, accounting for nearly half the loss of world tax revenue.
IFFs refer to cross-border movements of money and other financial assets obtained illegally at source, e.g., by corruption, smuggling, tax evasion, etc. This often involves trade mis-invoicing and transnational corporations’ (TNCs) transfer pricing via ‘creative’ accounting or book-keeping.
Jomo Kwame Sundaram
Staggering revenue losses
About US$500–600 billion in corporate tax revenue is lost yearly to TNCs shifting profits to low-, or no-tax ‘havens’. These often involve fictitious ‘paper’ transactions at inflated prices among subsidiaries to ‘move’ profits out of the country where a TNC actually does business and makes profits, to tax havens where they pay much less, often little or no tax.
By Dike Onwuamaeze
The report of the United Nations’ High Level Panel on International Financial Accountability, Transparency and Integrity (FACTI) for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2030 agenda has called for the development of a blueprint that would free the global economy from illicit financial practices and enable the realisation of the goals of sustainable development for all, everywhere.
The report, which was launched yesterday, is titled the “Financial Integrity for Sustainable Development.” It stated that illicit financial flows could be tackled by fostering a system of, “financial integrity for sustainable development.”
It described Illicit Financial Flows (IFFs) as, “financial flows that are illicit in origin, transfer or use, that reflect an exchange of value and that cross country borders,” adding that tax avoidance is a component of IFFs.
SDGs: UN Calls for Blueprint to Tackle Illicit Financial Practices thisdaylive.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from thisdaylive.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.