– The current tax system has a soap eyes. Politicians, businessmen, millionaires do not want to see ordinary citizens, as it comes to fortunes. Very well, that the public becomes aware. For we have reason to ask: why do we have to pay taxes honestly, an explicit holes in the budget, while you avoid tax liability – says money.pl Daria Żebrowska-Fresenbet expert of the Institute of Global Responsibility.
Przemyslaw Ciszak, money.pl Panama papers is by far the largest in corporate history leak documents. The scandal, which pierces Offshore Leaks, Swiss Leaks or Lux Leaks. But use of tax havens is not contrary to the law. So what’s all the fuss?
Daria Żebrowska-Fresenbet, Institute of Global Responsibility: it’s true, it’s not a crime. The global tax system is outdated and inadequate to progress. It was created about a hundred years ago and sanctioned economic activities in those realities. Today, individuals, companies, multinational corporations use its inefficiency or inaccuracy to pursue special interests.
But this injustice. It is said about the economic crisis and the need to cut costs, we have a problem of Greece, Spain, Portugal, the rescue which we consist. There are dozens of countries in Africa and South America, who are struggling with poverty. Meanwhile, the economies derived huge money by avoiding paying taxes and deepening these crises.
Well, but since the use of tax havens is perfectly legal, though perhaps questionable ethically, whether we have the right outraged? But the old rule of capitalism says, business is business, it’s about maximizing profits and minimizing costs. Naturally, within the limits of the law.
Of course, but not at the expense of others. No company operates in isolation from the social space. It uses the infrastructure which is paid for by taxes, use of labor, that is, people who have hard-earned money they have to pay tax. So why did she evades its responsibilities with respect to this space, in addition acting in unfair competition against smaller companies?
The current tax system has a soap eyes. And the scale is huge, it is estimated that in tax havens hidden even tens of billions of dollars! Politicians, businessmen, millionaires do not want to, we, ordinary citizens, seen as one comes to fortunes and what mechanisms be used for rewalidowania private interests. Very well that such things leak and the public becomes aware. Then we have reason to ask questions, why do we have to pay fair taxes, an explicit to the holes in budgets, while you avoid tax liability.
A is not so that we all have become accustomed to these 70 years to operate tax havens?
perhaps. However, the scandal involved are not only large corporations, but also said about 143 politicians, among them kings, princes, premiers, presidents and deputies. These people were elected to public figures. They had become the guardian of the state and work for the good of society, and cynically exploit loopholes in the law to pursue private interests. International law should restrict the business activities of those who exercise the functions or the public.
For years, non-governmental organizations demand from European leaders to put an end to this injustice. It looks to fight windmills.
We want to convince politicians that supported the idea of reform of the global tax system. All countries of the world lose its failure, and all should participate in creating a new world of tax law. Poland loses about 46 billion zł per year, the European Union from 70 to 160 billion euros. And developing countries from $ 200 billion each year, more than receive development aid. Meanwhile, last year during the International Conference on Financing for Development, which took place in Addis Ababa, this idea literally killed.
Is this fight is not doomed to failure, since even such politicians as Prime Minister of Iceland – a country that was one of the few punished imprisonment responsible for the crisis – is hiding activities in tax havens?
Examples of social pressures force of public opinion show that this affair may help in the case. Case Polish LPP, which moved with its subsidiaries from tax havens back into Polish, or whether the case of Google, which in the UK will regulate the underpaid tax, have shown that you can get even giants to change business behavior. Affair Panama Papers reveals the hypocrisy of politicians who on the banners have a social good, fighting against injustice and hidden for companies offshore we use this injustice.
I understand the potency of social pressures on large companies, but we are talking global change in the law.
the solution could be to work on changes in tax law at the UN. Any other suggestions, such as the recent announcement of draft amendments to the OECD, will not solve the problem. Speaking of which, how the system will look like, which is to involve 200 countries, want to decide 34 richest among whom are also tax havens.
In the case of individuals, the matter would solve the public registers of real owners. Available for all, would give a picture, if Mr. Piskorski has some company in Panama or the Bahamas, or did not, which invests its capital Mr. Poroshenko, what kind of money and which way brings Mr. Putin.
The case of the Prime Minister of Iceland, the an example of so called. revolving door, in which politicians after finishing his career come to high positions in the supervisory boards are business consultants and many business representatives enter politics. It would be good to have used their experience for the good of society, but if you pursue personal interests, it must be eradicated.
The law firm of Panama Mossack Fonseca, which leaked these 11 million confidential documents, argues that the whole affair is the result of an organized international campaign imposed in privacy, which is a “sacred right” of every person. Maybe something in it, especially in an era of continuous surveillance and control?
The right to justice, in this context, to tax justice, it is a human right. The right of citizens to to benefit from the taxes they pay, is obvious. You can not be on issues such as fraud obscure privacy. Poor moral authority is a law firm that leeched into loss of money in individual countries and lack of honesty towards their citizens.
company could be argued, however, that it is global, and therefore only uses global features.
It’s a common translation businessmen avoiding taxation. Please, just give me a convincing answer, what is the point of creating 181 subsidiaries, which has, for example, Google in the Cayman Islands? This region has only 56 thousand. inhabitants, how many of these companies really work? Probably the most established only in order to derive money from other countries.
I’ll be back for a while yet to privacy issues and how to obtain these documents. From the documents they surfaced also the names of movie stars or sports, such as Jackie Chan and Leo Messi. For one bag they came the people who optimize profits through companies registered there, and those who through him launder money or even support terrorism. It’s a little unfair, we do not know still, what was the their activities, but the sentence socially already collapsed.
These types of leaks reveal the superficiality of actions and words of many people, including those of the stars. Messi leads the foundation and boasts about how it shares his wealth with children. At the same time deprives the country in which earns funds for similar purposes: build schools, free health care. Apparently such a scandal is required to Mr. Messi, he realized what he was doing, or someone he is reproached and finally realized. Why should we protect the privacy of crooks, and at the same time judge and condemn the whistleblowers?
I’m surprised that advocating for social welfare in the form of disclosure of the affair is considered a crime, and tolerate fraud and the action was striking in social good . Soon moving process Antoine Deltour – former auditor at PricewaterhouseCoopers (now PwC), who gave reporters confidential information relating to the interpretation of the tax authorities of Luxembourg. He faces seven years in prison.
Do you think that the affair Panama Papers has the potential to lead to any changes in the law?
I would like to but changed the definition of criminal. Aggressive tax optimization, tax evasion should be treated as a crime, and information about such scandals should not be penalized.
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