Center for Freedom and Prosperity
For Immediate Release
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
202-285-0244
www.freedomandprosperity.org
CF&P Prosperitas Paper Warns Low-Tax
Jurisdictions About OECD’s Anti-Tax
Competition Agenda
(Washington, D.C., Tuesday, September 28, 2010) The Center for Freedom and Prosperity Foundation has released a new Prosperitas study, entitled, “An Update on the OECD’s Campaign Against Tax Competition, Fiscal Sovereignty, and Financial Privacy,” warning low-tax jurisdictions that the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) may unveil last-minute schemes at the upcoming Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes taking place Sept. 29-30 in Singapore.
Link to the paper:
http://www.freedomandprosperity.org/Papers/oecd-singapore/oecd-singapore.shtml
The author of the paper, Dan Mitchell of the Cato Institute, will be in Singapore to educate participants and observers by explaining how tax competition promotes global economic growth by rewarding nations with pro-growth tax policy, thus encouraging high-tax nations to make much-needed reforms. He will be available to consult with conference participants and also brief the media and other observers.
Since the 2008 elections, the US has been a supporter of the OECD’s aggressive anti-tax competition campaign. But that may not last. With domestic political changes looming in the US, this Global Forum may be the last chance for OECD nations to capitalize on US support and convince low-tax jurisdictions to surrender their fiscal sovereignty.
“The Center for Freedom and Prosperity has attended every Global Forum held thus far,” said CF&P Foundation President Andrew Quinlan. “With the OECD continuing to spread misinformation about low-tax jurisdictions and tax competition, it was imperative that we have a presence again this year, while also producing a paper that can be used as an aid for low-tax countries as they encounter the OECD’s attack on tax competition, financial privacy and fiscal sovereignty,” added Quinlan.
The new paper highlights six primary areas of concern for low-tax jurisdictions: 1) A possible push for automatic tax information sharing; 2) Another assault on tax planning and tax avoidance like the surprise attack at last year’s Global Forum; 3) A move toward a global financial tax; 4) Expansion of the savings tax directive; 5) Application of a formula apportionment of business income; 6) Widespread adoption of the US policy of taxing corporate income earned worldwide.
Executive Summary:
The Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development has an ongoing project to prop up Europe’s inefficient welfare states by attacking tax competition in hopes of enabling governments to impose heavier tax burdens. This project received a boost when the Obama Administration joined forces with countries such as France and Germany, but the tide is now turning against high-tax nations – particularly as more people understand that such an approach inevitably leads to Greek-style fiscal collapse. Looming political changes in the United States will further complicate the OECD’s ability to impose bad policy. Because of these developments, low-tax jurisdictions should be especially wary of schemes to rush through new anti-tax competition initiatives at the Singapore Global Forum.
For additional comments:
Andrew Quinlan can be reached at 202-285-0244, andy@freedomandprosperity.org
Dan Mitchell can be reached at 202-218-4615, dmitchell@cato.org
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