Leaked Pandora Papers expose urgent need to stamp out tax avoidance by wealthy and political elite

As the Pandora Papers reveal yet again the extensive use of tax havens and tax secrecy by the economic and political elite, ActionAid International calls on governments to step up their efforts to stamp out tax avoidance. Five years have passed since the Panama Papers which exposed the dodgy tax dealings of a Panama based law firm and its clients, and eight years since the G20 mandated the BEPS process, intended to end tax avoidance and satisfy people’s demands for tax justice and fairness.

Billionaires increased their wealth by US$3.9tn in the first year of the pandemic, while global workers lost earnings of US$3.7tn. With inequality still rising, exacerbated by the Covid-19 crisis, states need fair and progressive tax rules more than ever.

Julia Sánchez, Secretary General of ActionAid International said:

“It is totally unacceptable for governments to claim they can’t afford healthcare, quality education or a green transition away from polluting fossil fuels, when they are allowing such vast resources to be looted by wealthy elites and corrupt politicians to be hidden away in tax havens. These dodgy practices are facilitated by banks and the financial sector which serve as the guardians of secrecy in tax havens.

“The Pandora Papers are set to expose further tax scandals, featuring decision-makers using shoddy tax havens, and more loopholes in tax legislation that politicians will pretend are mistakes to be rectified, rather than there by design. This highlights more than ever the need for serious action on tax justice, including improved tax transparency.”

The priority must be to establish public registers of beneficial ownership, in all jurisdictions, accounts and entities, to stop crooks setting up shell companies to hide wealth in tax havens. It must be made mandatory for countries to exchange vital information to help stop this damaging practice. Public country-by-country reporting of corporate tax payments and key financial data would help improve transparency and reduce the secrecy that allows these loopholes. A global minimum corporate tax rate of 25% would also be an effective way of stopping potential tax revenue being hidden in tax havens.

Sánchez continued: “The Panama Papers, LuxLeaks and now the Pandora Papers are just the tip of a tax dodging iceberg. If we are to avoid the fate of the Titanic, we must change course now and demand tax justice once and for all”.

ENDS.

Notes to Editors

ActionAid has long campaigned on Tax Justice, outlining ways governments can fairly and progressively leverage tax revenues from both wealthy individuals and corporate giants. Most recently, ActionAid’s report ‘Mission Recovery: How Big Tech’s Tax Bill could Kickstart a Fairer Economy’, found that fairly taxing just five silicon valley tech giants could unlock US$32 billion in revenues for vaccines or public services.

Find out more about our Tax Justice work here: Tax justice | ActionAid International