To coincide with this week’s crucial European Parliament vote on stamping out malpractice and tax havens which were exposed by the Panama Papers last year, the European United Left–Nordic Green Left (GUE/NGL) Group published a brochure outlining all the dodgy dealings and loopholes used by the wealthy elite and criminals in moving their untaxed money around the world.
Titled “Panama Papers: Dirty Money and Tax Tricks – how the rich, the powerful and criminals rip us off” digs deep into all the examples that the rich and the powerful don’t want you to know about” also examines the conditions under which tax havens have been allowed to thrive and what can be done to shut down these loopholes – and to reclaim all the trillions of tax that is owed to governments and citizens around the world.
LuxLeaks whistleblower Antoine Deltour is also interviewed on why such exposés are critical in the fight for tax justice, and GUE/NGL MEP Dennis De Jong explains why proper measures to protect whistleblowers such as Deltour and others is long overdue.
“Tax dumping by big corporations, the rich and the powerful has taken on a systemic nature. Leaks such as the Panama Papers and the recent Paradise Papers are proof to this,” said German MEP Martin Schirdewan. “With this brochure, we hope to shed some light on the political failures that have allowed for one of the greatest robberies of our time.”
For Irish MEP Matt Carthy, it’s high time for global action in the fight for tax justice. “The biggest challenge we face in the tax justice movement is organising a mass campaign of ordinary citizens to demand an end to the offshore scam where the super-rich can avoid paying their fair share of tax.”
“This brochure aims to explain some of the tax tricks used by multinationals and individuals, and the laws and loopholes that facilitate them in an easily understandable way as well as proposing solutions. We hope it will be a valuable tool in the fight for change by the tax justice movement in Europe,” he added.
