Int'l panel to discuss Tax Justice Network's latest Financial Secrecy Index today, via Zoom

She will be joined by a panel of international experts, including Carla Mera, general director of Ecuador’s Financial and Economic Analysis Unit; Eva Joly, an investigative judge, former Member of the European Parliament, and commissioner at the Independent Commission for the Reform of International Corporate Taxation; and Matti Kohonen, director of the Financial Transparency Coalition. 

As reported here today, the TJN's Financial Secrecy Index sees the U.S. move to the top of the ranking – from second place two years ago – mostly as a result of its failure to "meet international standards and practice on information exchange with other countries," i.e., because it has thus far continued to decline to participate in the OECD's Common Reporting Standard, an automatic information exchange regime that more than 100 other countries have signed up to.

The TJN says that although globally the supply of financial secrecy services, of the kind utilized by Russian oligarchs, wealthy tax evaders and corrupt politicians, has continued to decrease globally, due to transparency reforms, a few rogue countries, including the U.S., along with the UK, Japan, Germany and Italy – are moving the other way, and in so doing, are "responsible for cutting global progress against financial secrecy by more than half".

The online discussion will begin at 2pm BST (3pm CEST) today (May 17), and last around 90 minutes.  Tax Justice Network says it will be the first in a series of  such events that it plans to host during the summer on what it considers to be "the most pressing global tax issues", as well as what the best possible ways ahead may be "for a fair and inclusive global tax system".

To sign up for the webinar, click here.