Financial Transparency Coalition

Latindadd and other civil society organisations recently sent their contributions to the UK parliamentary inquiry into tax in developing countries. In its call, the International Development Committee of the UK parliament highlighted that “developing countries lose an estimated $ 160 billion each year through tax avoidance by multinational companies (including those based in the UK)” and the important role of the extractive industries, “where payments to governments are often not disclosed and may not contribute to development or poverty reduction.”

Publish What You Pay and Eurodad have launched a briefing paper (PDF) calling on the EU to propose legally binding measures to require natural resource companies to publish key financial information for each country and project in which they operate. In recent months, civil society groups working on financial transparency and on tax and development have actively engaged the European Commission and other European institutions responsible for drafting key legislative and non-legislative proposals that will potentially reform European financial reporting standards. This paper aims to contribute to the current debate...

The EU must prove itself as a promoter of development, by ensuring that more funds flow from the North to the South rather than vice versa. The case of tax-dodging Zambian copper mining company Mopani, shows that money from the ‘EU bank’ – The European Investment Bank (EIB) – continues to find its way into tax havens. The EU likes to purvey itself as a benefactor for the developing world. It is the largest ODA donor and proponent of many policy documents underwriting its engagement to promote sustainable development in developing countries. However, partly due to a...

Last week, the European ministers made a call to establish a country-by-country reporting standard for multinational companies in the extractive sector – a much needed first step to curb tax evasion and avoidance in poor countries. This decision follows groundbreaking reports by the European Parliament to enhance global tax policies which would allow mobilising further development finance to meet internationally agreed development goals. This is a partial victory for civil society organisations in Europe who have been strongly advocating for specific policy reforms to make global tax policies work for the poor. European ministers take first steps to curb tax...