If he is elected there are chances that it

The fight against tax havens is the menu for an international meeting organized today in Paris by the France and the Germany. Following the recommendations of Christian Chavagneux, who recently wrote a book on the subject (éditions La Découverte).

The Prime Minister, François Fillon, called on Tuesday, October 14 at the "disappearance" of tax havens as a prelude "to a refounding of the international financial system." This kind of statements of good intentions is generally only skeptical smiles, is not believed Governments able to move from words to acts, or, especially, it is believed this impossible struggle in view of the complexity and opacity of financial centres offshore. It is a mistake. Can tackle successfully, to tax havens. There are already five actions:

1. The current financial crisis reminds us how the world of finance lives on trust. Yet political declarations such as the Prime Minister contribute to introduce uncertainty in the world of tax havens. Financial regulation, political communication is essential: Nicolas Sarkozy has managed to ensure that European governments fire stations act in concert with the fire of finance, and it has the air brought some fruit. It is ok. If it was the same political energy to convince the Belgium, the Luxembourg, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom to sign a joint declaration of the Member countries of the euro area to the fight against tax havens, he would win another major.

2. An immediate action would be that the Governments who have made their security deposits of individuals with banks specify that it does not affect deposits made in the subsidiaries located in tax havens. The Isle of Man, Jersey, Guernsey, etc., do not have financial kidney strong enough to make this kind of guarantees. This would contribute to the advent of ethical capitalism dear to the French President.

3 Since 2005, a European directive on savings requires EU countries to exchange information on the investments of non-residents or, for countries that wish to keep their banking secrecy to a withholding at source on the interests of the investment of 20 since last summer. The renegotiation under this directive must lead: he must remove the deduction at source and pass to the compulsory exchange of information; It must be that it affects not only individuals but also legal persons (foundations, trusts, etc.); must be that it covers all complex and other financial products financial innovations to circumvent tax rules under the principle of "the spirit and the letter" or, as the Anglo-Saxons of the "substance over form": If such financial product used to place the savings is not included in the scope of the directive but is used to circumvent the, it becomes covered by the Act.

4 Retuning the directive on the "transfer price", price which multinational enterprises exchange goods and services, often used to reveal the territory less taxed profits. It was to see the day this year but was postponed after the Irish in the European referendum. It is to establish a tax base consolidated at European level. The profits of the firms would be taxed only once and the proceeds of the tax redistributed between the different countries of implementation according to criteria to determine (amount of invested capital, sales...) as is the case in the United States or the Canada.

5. Lastly, the financial crisis having opened the debate on the change of international accounting standards, should take the opportunity to require the reporting country of multinational corporations: each firm will have to make it transparent in what country it is, what it is, the amount of its assets and the number of persons employed, how are relations intra-group profits before taxesetc. The European Parliament has already asked the Commission to do so.

The larger States know that public spending will not only advance tomorrow: health and pensions of their ageing populations, for education, key for inclusion in globalization, to combat climate change, international pandemics and to regulate finance. They can no longer afford to see their income tax 10 for the France! flee in territories without control which can, to question their willingness to regulate international finance. Senator Barack Obama filed last year a tax recharacterize of a large Bill. If he is elected, there are chances that it. Coordinated the United States and Europe action would open a very hard time for tax havens.