Financial Secrecy Index

The 2009 Financial Secrecy Index results were officially launched a few days ago.

David Taylor, Member of Parliament for North West Leicestershire, had this to say about the index in Parliament:

”The Tax Justice Network has done the world a great service in producing its global index of secrecy, which reveals the most secretive financial centres—the City of London being the fifth worst. Why cannot we take an international lead in tackling tax avoidance by first ending the clandestine and corrupting culture that permeates the City of London?”

Financial Secretary to the Treasury Stephen Timms responded “We have taken action domestically and internationally to change the game for those who bend rules on tax. We detect avoidance early, we tackle it quickly and the tax avoidance disclosure system introduced in 2004 has helped to close more than £12 billion in avoidance opportunities.

“We have led work internationally in the G20 on tackling tax evasion and have won plaudits from many for doing so. Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs will be setting up a dedicated tackling tax evasion unit to target those with offshore bank accounts who do not come forward under the current new disclosure opportunity—I believe that he will welcome that. In the G20, we have led a dramatic change on tax havens—there has been a huge amount of profitable activity—just over the past year.”

Since 2004 the advance disclosure system has reduced tax avoidance losses by an estimated £12 billion. While there's plenty more that can be recovered by taking further steps to tackle Britain's avoidance culture, £12bn will have paid for more than a few new schools and hospitals.