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| David Cameron urged to extend tax reporting plan | David Cameron urged to extend tax reporting plan |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| David Cameron is under pressure from aid agencies and Labour to extend his proposal to make companies reveal their true owners to tax authorities, and allow the same information to be made available to the public. | David Cameron is under pressure from aid agencies and Labour to extend his proposal to make companies reveal their true owners to tax authorities, and allow the same information to be made available to the public. |
| The agencies say it will allow developing countries to find out the identity of companies and individuals taking cash from their countries illegally. | The agencies say it will allow developing countries to find out the identity of companies and individuals taking cash from their countries illegally. |
| Cameron said on Saturday that he wants the deal to be extended to the public, but needs the support of other G8 leaders. He said it was absolutely vital the Tanzanian tax authorities had access to the information. | Cameron said on Saturday that he wants the deal to be extended to the public, but needs the support of other G8 leaders. He said it was absolutely vital the Tanzanian tax authorities had access to the information. |
| Cameron said he will consult on whether a UK registry will be made public or only open to the tax authorities. The biggest stumbling blocks to public registries at the G8 will be Canada and Russia. The US position is ambiguous. | |
| The shadow business secretary Chuka Umunna told the BBC One Andrew Marr Show that he had written to the government to demand Companies House informs HMRC about firms that do not properly report their overseas subsidiaries. He said thousands of these firms are not being reported by their owners. | The shadow business secretary Chuka Umunna told the BBC One Andrew Marr Show that he had written to the government to demand Companies House informs HMRC about firms that do not properly report their overseas subsidiaries. He said thousands of these firms are not being reported by their owners. |
| Umunna said: "HMRC works alongside Companies House to tackle these issues. Companies House works to ensure companies disclose the information that enables HMRC to act." | |
| But he said there was a lack of resources at Companies House to make Cameron's intervention meaningful. There is also concern that the agreement will not cover trusts, only companies. | But he said there was a lack of resources at Companies House to make Cameron's intervention meaningful. There is also concern that the agreement will not cover trusts, only companies. |
| The business secretary Vince Cable last week wrote to Companies House to step up its efforts to find out the true beneficial owners, after the charity Action Aid found there was widespread failure by firms to report their subsidiaries. | The business secretary Vince Cable last week wrote to Companies House to step up its efforts to find out the true beneficial owners, after the charity Action Aid found there was widespread failure by firms to report their subsidiaries. |
| Umunna added: "It's no good the prime minister making new announcements about a new registry yesterday; if you're not actually enforcing the current regime, what hope is there in respect of the future?" | |
| Speaking later on the same programme, deputy prime minister Nick Clegg said it was important companies abided by both the spirit and the letter of the rules – and highlighted the government's General Anti-Abuse Rule. | Speaking later on the same programme, deputy prime minister Nick Clegg said it was important companies abided by both the spirit and the letter of the rules – and highlighted the government's General Anti-Abuse Rule. |
| Cameron insisted he was making progress on the issue, telling Sky News: "You're never going to deal with that unless you actually know who owns every company. | Cameron insisted he was making progress on the issue, telling Sky News: "You're never going to deal with that unless you actually know who owns every company. |
| "We're leading by example by having a register of beneficial ownership, who owns which company and every G8 company will be signing up an action plan on beneficial ownership. We're making some real progress on that issue. It also helps to deal with bad practice by companies. | "We're leading by example by having a register of beneficial ownership, who owns which company and every G8 company will be signing up an action plan on beneficial ownership. We're making some real progress on that issue. It also helps to deal with bad practice by companies. |
| At a special meeting on Saturday, the crown dependencies and overseas territories agreed to sign a multilateral convention on tax information exchange, a move that was in doubt before the weekend. They also agreed to action plans to ensure they meet the international standards on beneficial ownership transparency. But some of the crown dependencies privately believe little will change and they only need to look as though they are complying now while the political heat is on them. | At a special meeting on Saturday, the crown dependencies and overseas territories agreed to sign a multilateral convention on tax information exchange, a move that was in doubt before the weekend. They also agreed to action plans to ensure they meet the international standards on beneficial ownership transparency. But some of the crown dependencies privately believe little will change and they only need to look as though they are complying now while the political heat is on them. |
| Gavin Hayman, director of campaigns at Global Witness, said: "The credibility of this move hinges on the action plans. This is the first time that the havens have got together to discuss rolling back corporate secrecy so that's positive. But we want to see them and the G8 match David Cameron's transformative commitment to creating registries of the beneficial owners of companies, with a preference for making these publicly available. | Gavin Hayman, director of campaigns at Global Witness, said: "The credibility of this move hinges on the action plans. This is the first time that the havens have got together to discuss rolling back corporate secrecy so that's positive. But we want to see them and the G8 match David Cameron's transformative commitment to creating registries of the beneficial owners of companies, with a preference for making these publicly available. |
| He added: "Only by putting this information in the public domain will we really roll back the frontiers of corporate secrecy. If journalists, civil society and individuals throughout the world could see who ultimately owns and benefits from a company's activities, they would be in a position to support law enforcement efforts to put a stop to money laundering, tax avoidance, drug smuggling, arms running and state looting." | He added: "Only by putting this information in the public domain will we really roll back the frontiers of corporate secrecy. If journalists, civil society and individuals throughout the world could see who ultimately owns and benefits from a company's activities, they would be in a position to support law enforcement efforts to put a stop to money laundering, tax avoidance, drug smuggling, arms running and state looting." |
| Labour leader Ed Miliband said Cameron must be prepared, if necessary, to get tough with any territories or dependencies that refuse to comply with the UK's demands. | Labour leader Ed Miliband said Cameron must be prepared, if necessary, to get tough with any territories or dependencies that refuse to comply with the UK's demands. |
| He said: "Britain, which has responsibility for arguably the biggest network of tax havens in the world, needs to use all its considerable legal power and authority to ensure all the UK overseas territories and crown dependencies which act as tax havens sign up." | He said: "Britain, which has responsibility for arguably the biggest network of tax havens in the world, needs to use all its considerable legal power and authority to ensure all the UK overseas territories and crown dependencies which act as tax havens sign up." |
| Britain has in the past imposed direct rules on overseas territories. Most recently in 2009, following persistent corruption in the Turks and Caicos Islands. | Britain has in the past imposed direct rules on overseas territories. Most recently in 2009, following persistent corruption in the Turks and Caicos Islands. |
| Richard Hay, counsel to IFC Forum and tax partner with law firm Stikeman Elliott, said Cameron risks harming British business with his beneficial ownership plans if the UK and its crown dependencies and overseas territories go too far too quickly. | |
| Hay said: "Other major countries, such as the US, do not collect beneficial ownership data and are unlikely to. Moving ahead of others risks an own goal for the UK as business migrates to the US." | |
| He added: "The UK's plan to collect beneficial ownership data through direct reporting into corporate registries is not credible as criminals will not self-report accurate information on beneficial ownership. | |
| "The British offshore centres ensure proper gatekeepers for the system by requiring the use of professional and regulated corporate service providers, they are ahead of the UK even after the UK's proposals of yesterday have been implemented." |