EU sets its sights on tax havens

Woopsy. Should read "parliamentarians" below. Can't be too careful with all the prigishness on display by some telling others what they ought to do.

""ČEKIA has a totally misleading point of view because they think tax evasion is happening when somebody moves a parent company to tax havens," said Tomáš Pelikán, director of Terrinvest, a company that helps Czech entrepreneurs set up businesses abroad. "When somebody does it, it is usually to hide ownership structure, which is probably 30 percent to 40 percent of such cases ... and has nothing to do with taxes.""

This theory might apply to those such as Czech politicians who would want to keep their business dealings out of the limelight."

I find this latter sentence curious, even incongruous perhaps, in the context of the whole article.

In Australia, we have what is called a Register of Pecuniary Interests which all parliamenterians, both federal and state, are required by law to,

(a) complete within thirty days of their being sworn in, and

(b) update within thirty days of there being some amendment to their pecuniary interests.

Furthermore, all such information in relation to (a) and (b) above is required to be published on the internet.

Seems to me the Czech Republic, if it doesn't already have something like this already, could sure do with it.

USA is miles ahead of EU on this.It cracked the whip under which influence of even mighty Swiss bankers are opening their financial secrets to the scrutiny of accounts of people that are rich and greedy enough to hide their riches from taxation.
Soon,it will happen even in Carribean and other countries that shields the accounts-for their own advantage.

The small contribution to fight against the corruption.

Imagine,the rich and greedy having to pay the tax just like the "little guy!"

Surley ownership structure has everything to do with taxes; not to mention conflict of interests in public office.

Those aspiring to political life and its responsibilities would; I imagine; be in the forefront of asset transparency as a part of intrgrity of office.
At a time where one of the major identified problems of democratic and economic progress is corruption; then what politition could oppose measures to ensure integrity of position?