Economists Urge New Global Tax Disclosure Rules

A group of around 300 economists worldwide have been calling for new rules to be implemented, forcing companies to publicly disclose tax activities country-by-country.

Reports state that a letter, published by the group of economists and sent to world leaders, urges the UK to take the lead in the battle for corporate tax transparency.

Some signatories included among the economist group, led primarily by Oxfam, are best-selling author Thomas Piketty and 2015 Nobel Prize economics winner Angus Deaton. The list also boasts almost 50 economic professors from various British universities.

According to the BBC, the economist group claims the UK is “uniquely placed” to take the lead on this movement, given that a third of the world’s tax havens are sovereignly accountable to the UK.

“We need new global agreements on issues such as public country-by-country reporting, including for tax havens,” the group states in the letter.

“Governments must also put their own houses in order by ensuring that all the territories for which they are responsible make publicly available information about the real ‘beneficial’ owners of company and trusts,” it adds.

This news comes on the back of the recent Panama Papers scandal and is one of several calls for tax transparency worldwide. Other knee-jerk reactions were also seen in the past month, including the resignation of Iceland’s Prime Minister and comments made by Apple Inc.’s co-founder on the need for corporate tax transparency.