By Alasdair Roxburgh | 4 October 2011
As supporters of Christian Aid’s tax campaign will know, tax havens play a key role in allowing some unscrupulous companies to dodge the taxes they owe to developing countries thanks to the financial secrecy they provide.
Today the Tax Justice Network launched its 2011 Financial Secrecy index, a league table of the world’s most secretive tax havens.
Switzerland, just weeks after its highly controversial deal with the UK which we condemned as ‘collusion with criminality,’ tops the table as the world’s most harmful region for financial secrecy.
They’re closely followed by the Cayman Islands, the source of quotes describing Christian Aid as the ‘Tax Taliban’.
Luxembourg came in third, while the UK is just outside the top ten in 13th place.
Financial Secrecy Index The full table
Guardian G20 has failed to crack down on tax havens, says campaign group
The index is a reminder to the G20 ahead of its meeting in Cannes this November of the importance of tackling the secrecy these countries provide and which some companies use to dodge the taxes they owe in poor countries.
Take action!
Act in RoI! Email Herman Van Rompuy, President of the European Council, José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission, and G20 chair, France's Nicolas Sarkozy.
Act in NI! Call on David Cameron, Nick Clegg and Nicolas Sarkozy to end tax haven secrecy at this year’s G20.
