Just what the world needed!
Yet another left-wing letterhead paper group to spread lies and distortions about tax havens and offshore financial centers!
As if the OECD, FATF and their associated leftist hangers on (Oxfam, Tax Justice Network), plus their camp followers in the liberal media claque, were not enough, (and this time it wasn't), a paid press release announced -- Tah Da!, drum roll, please -- the Taskforce (sic) on Financial Integrity and Economic Development, --TFIED. (Sounds like the name of a small crawly insect).
A Google news search of 4500 news sources turned up a scant two publications in the world that carried the paid for TFIED news release, one being the reliable leftist and anti-tax haven Guardian in the U.K.
United Kingdom Not Interested
The new "group," (its actual members may number less than the fingers on your hand) supposedly is based in Washington, D.C., the fount of all wisdom, and is being bankrolled by the oil-rich, nosey government of Norway. TFIED claims to represent 50 countries, including Germany, France and Spain, but is miffed that the Labour's United Kingdom government failed to get aboard. (Do these governments even know their name is being used in vain?)
Its press releases are being handed out by the usual anti-tax haven suspects you've met before in these pages, including Raymond Baker, Director of Washington, D.C. based Global Financial Integrity (another paper tiger) who heads the Task Force. Another repeat offender, John Christensen of the Tax Justice Network in London, replayed the same tired and false rerfrain: "llicit financial flows drain money out of poor countries, enable criminal activity, and undermine international development."
Goal: Kill All Privacy
What is it this rag tag group of disgruntled liberals and economic misfits want?
Same thread bare plot, folks, as described by their unabashed disciple, Guardian "reporter" Nick Matheson:
"The task force (sic) is demanding that the beneficial ownership, control and accounts of companies, trusts and foundations be available on public record to facilitate due diligence. It wants mandatory exchange of information between tax and governmental authorities on income, gains and property received by non-resident individuals, corporations, and trusts and that offenses for money laundering charges be harmonized across the world. It also calls for an end to the practice of transfer pricing, whereby companies manipulate the cost of trading goods to reduce the tax."
In other words, a complete end to what little remains of financial and personal privacy, constant tax collector fishing expeditions into your private business, banking and papers, and an international law, (perhaps UN administered?), that makes every human being who has a bank account liable to money laundering charges.
On to London
First stop for these worthies: "In the near term the Task Force will focus on the April meeting of G20 nations in London to promote its agenda with governments."
Well, I suspect that the new Obama administration will sympathize with this little coterie of know-it-all do gooders, but has a lot more serious financial matters with which to deal at the moment.
But the good fight for truth and true economic justice will be conducted by our allies from the Center for Freedom and Prosperity -- and the 70 low or no-tax countries and jurisdictions who are being smeared by the TFIED black list, only the latest of many.
Try the Truth
If you want to know the true facts about tax havens, our web site is your best choice for fair and balanced offshore news. We tell you all about legal offshore financal centers and tax havens, tax-free banking, investment and legal possibilities in my book, Where To Stash Your Cash Legally: Tax Havens of the World. And we will allso alert you to the return of the usual suspects.
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