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	Global call to development banks: don''t fund projects that violate human rights by Paola Totaro Thomson Reuters Foundation, agencies   14 July 2016   International development banks should ensure their investments do not violate human rights or risk the lives of the activists who defend them, a group of global campaigners said on Thursday.   The Coalition on Human Rights in Development, representing 150 human rights and environment groups including Oxfam, Greenpeace and Bankwatch, signed a petition urging banks and funders to think about risks to people''s rights before approving projects.   The petition is directed at international financial institutions including the World Bank and regional banks in Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas as well as newer institutions such as the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, and the BRICS New Development Bank.   "International Financial Institutions (IFIs) should also ensure that their activities do not cause or contribute to human rights violations, including taking necessary measures to identify and address human rights risks in all of their activities," the petition states.   Major development banks have long touted the importance of public participation for effective development, the organisations said.   However, a growing number of national governments have been undermining community participation in development by criminalising the activities of land and human rights activists and putting restrictions on non-governmental groups.   "Development banks and their member states can''t hope to achieve sustainable development or eliminate poverty if their investments are contributing to human rights violations or if those who are meant to benefit from development find themselves subjected to abuse," said Adam Shapiro, spokesman for the human rights group Front Line Defenders.   In March, Berta Caceres, a renowned indigenous land and environment rights defender in Honduras was murdered at her home. Caceres colleague, Lesbia Urquia, was found dead with wounds to her head last week.   Five people have been arrested in connection with Caceres murder, including an employee from a company behind a hydroelectric dam project she helped block. The company said it had no connection to the killing.   Human Rights Watch has recently documented what it said were abuses against individuals and communities impacted by projects financed by the World Bank and its arm for corporate loans, the International Finance Corporation.   "Those who try to engage in development processes have suffered threats, harassment, physical assault, or worse," said Jessica Evans of Human Rights Watch in a statement.   "Development banks have a responsibility to ensure that their investments don''t interfere with human rights, and that people can participate in or express their opinions about development projects without fearing for their safety."   * Access the Coalition for Human Rights in Development site via the link below.   http://bit.ly/2amWdeC http://reliefweb.int/report/world/defending-human-rights-development http://www.hrw.org/news/2016/07/21/world-bank-human-rights-all-absent-new-policy http://www.hrw.org/report/2015/06/22/your-own-risk/reprisals-against-critics-world-bank-group-projects http://www.bankinformationcenter.org/our-work/safeguards/ http://place.trust.org/news Visit the related web page
	Corporate tax minimisation costs governments $US1 trillion says accounting insider by Tax Justice Network, news agencies   July 2016   The big four accounting firms have been branded as aggressive, unethical, and accused of "perpetrating the greatest tax crimes in history" by a leading corporate tax authority.   At least $US1 trillion in tax revenue is lost worldwide, and $50 billion in Australia, as a result of aggressive tax minimisation schemes established by the four giant firms who audit the books of nearly all the world''s major companies, said George Rozvany, a 32-year veteran of the corporate tax industry.   "And I''m a conservative man, I think the figure is actually much higher," he told ABC News.   "It''s very clear to me that the big four accounting firms are the masterminds of international tax avoidance.   "They work with government to deliver what they want for their clients. It''s not set in a social context; it''s designed to deliver an outcome for their clients."   Mr Rozvany spent 32 years working in the corporate tax field, for Ernst and Young, Coopers and Lybrand (now PwC) and the defunct Arthur Anderson. He was head of tax for chemical giant ICI in Australia as well as for the world''s largest insurer, Allianz.   Mr Rozvany is Australia''s most published author on transfer pricing, a technique that multinational companies are using increasingly to shift profits from high tax to low tax jurisdictions.   While his legal texts explained how to work within the law, Mr Rozvany argues that sham transfer pricing arrangements are now out of control.   "Transfer pricing behaviour clearly is the greatest concern because it''s very easy for a transfer pricing expert to dress up a sham transaction as a real commercial transaction," he explained.   "I''m talking about service arrangements, intellectual property transfers, such as patents or use of patents, and perceived transfer of goods, sham loans between related parties, but in reality it''s all about providing services at too high a price which then shifts income to a lower tax jurisdiction."   Mr Rozvany likens the aggressive structures the big four accounting firms have developed for profit shifting to corruption, terrorism and Mafioso activity.   "They''re all following the same financial sore," he said. "Basically tax avoidance, corruption: the money comes from somewhere. And the money typically needs to be hidden for the purpose of the perpetrators.   He cited the Luxembourg Leaks, which revealed the role of major accounting firms in global corporate tax minimisation as evidence of their aggressive tax behaviour on behalf of clients.   "Sham structures have been set up in Luxembourg, again, looking like normal commercial transactions but really with a view to being taxed in Luxembourg at 1 per cent as opposed to a 25 per cent or 30 per cent rate in another country," Mr Rozvany observed.   "The cost to the international community is enormous."   Mr Rozvany argues that the big four should be broken up, and their tax and audit functions separated out into separate firms, a view shared by some European politicians and regulators.   He is advocating for the use of anti-trust laws to create eight separate accounting firms and eight tax law practices. "They''re simply too big," he argued.   Mr Rozvany also advocates for an "ethical tax principal" that would allow companies that adhered to established tax rules, and did not engage in aggressive tax minimisation practices, to qualify for a discounted company tax rate.   "But, if you set up a sham transaction in a tax haven with a view to shifting profits from a high tax jurisdiction to a low tax jurisdiction that should be considered unacceptable to the international community."   http://www.gfintegrity.org/report/illicit-financial-flows-from-developing-countries-2004-2013/ http://www.rightingfinance.org/?p=1636 http://www.cesr.org/section.php?id=229 http://www.taxjustice.net/ http://panamapapers.icij.org/ http://bit.ly/29II61R http://business-humanrights.org/en/tax-avoidance-0/latest-news-on-tax-avoidance http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Poverty/Pages/AnnualReports.aspx http://www.financeuncovered.org/ http://taxdisclosure.org/ http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/kpmg-offshore-sham-1.4006469 http://www.michaelwest.com.au/oligarchs-of-the-treasure-islands/ http://bit.ly/2urYqNU http://www.guengl.eu/policy/publication/the-big-four-a-study-of-opacity http://bit.ly/2tVzf2y Visit the related web page
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