AMERICAN corporations, banks and the mega rich are using Luxembourg's tax laws to avoid taxes, to avoid their responsibility to the nation and paying their fair share of the American social contract. There has been some talk about the IRS taking some action to prevent American's taking advantage of these laws, but it will no doubt fall short of what is actually needed. Please sign the petition from +SumOfUs .org calling on the government of Luxembourg to change their laws and end their country's tax haven status, followed by the report Luxembourg Leaks, Global Companies Secrets Exposed from the +ICIJ / The International Consortium of Investigative Journalist, followed by the list of American companies exposed in the Luxembourg Leaks report.....
Pepsi, Ikea, HSBC, Burberry, Procter & Gamble, Heinz, JP Morgan, FedEx, Amazon, Deutsche Bank... the list of corporate tax dodgers using Luxembourg sweetheart tax deals is almost endless.
Tell Luxembourg to stop aiding the tax dodging of the world’s biggest corporations.
Big news coming out of Luxembourg! Some of the world’s biggest companies, from Dyson to FedEx and from Burberry to Amazon have all secured secret sweetheart tax deals from Luxembourg, that allow many to slash their tax bills, in some cases to almost nothing.
The Luxembourg Prime Minister is unrepentant. He says “Luxembourg was not breaking any rules.” Of course its not -- his government wrote and devised the laws he says the country is not breaking!
Luxembourg is a tiny place where small ripples can make big waves, where the government is open and accessible. So if we make a lot of noise, we would have a big impact on the government there.
Let’s show Luxembourg that we’re fed up with it facilitating corporate tax dodging.
Thanks to a global investigation carried out by over 80 journalists in 26 countries, we know the truth about how the biggest global corporations have cheated us. They’ve used complex webs of internal loans, interest payments and funnelled profits through Luxembourg subsidiaries. What’s truly shocking is that the ‘sweetheart’ deals are all approved by Luxembourg and not illegal. It’s nothing more than a massive tax con-trick.
The expose blows the lid off how global mega-corporations are ripping off ordinary taxpayers right around the world, from the UK and US to Brazil and China -- and they can only continue to cheat us because of tax havens like Luxembourg.
SumOfUs was created in part to hold tax dodging corporations accountable. This is a huge opportunity created by some outstanding investigative journalism to really show the politicians of Luxembourg that they can no longer aid and abet corporate tax dodgers.
Can you post a quick message to the government of Luxembourg?
Thanks for all you do,
Taren, Martin, Eoin and the rest of us.
Luxembourg Leaks: Global Companies' Secrets Exposed
Secret Tax Deals Save Billions
Secret Tax Deals Save Billions
The landlocked European duchy has been called a “magical fairyland” for
brand-name corporations seeking to drastically reduce tax bills
Explore the Documents: Luxembourg Leaks Database
Search more than 340 global companies to see their secret tax agreements with Luxembourg.
Tricks of the Trade
They are everyday brand names, products and services we all use – but where does the money go and how much tax do these companies pay?
Luxembourg Leaks Stories Around the World
Explore the interactive map to see our partners' stories from around the world.
Impact
Juncker fronts media and Parliament over 'Lux Leaks' revelations
European Commission head Jean-Claude Juncker admits “political”
responsibility for Luxembourg’s tax policies, but denies being the
“architect” of the country’s tax “problems” in his first appearance
since the Luxembourg Leaks investigation was published.
Global accounting giants
Big 4 Audit Firms Play Big Role in Offshore Murk
Global accounting giants are prime architects of the offshore money
maze – and supporting characters in an array of offshore scandals.
Illustrations
Drawing It Out: The Visual Response to 'Lux Leaks'
Cartoons and illustrations are also telling the #LuxLeaks story around the world. Here are a few that were shared on Twitter.
Guide to the documents
Is Your Head Spinning? 5 Tips to Understand the ‘Lux Leaks’ Files
Want to see how global companies manage to avoid billions in taxes by
routing profits through Luxembourg? It’s all there in the leaked
documents, but understanding the complex structures companies set up is
not an easy task. Here are a few tips.
Full interview
OECD Tax Chief: Corporate Tax Avoidance While Taxpayers Suffer 'Simply Not Acceptable'
FULL TRANSCRIPT: OECD's tax policy director Pascal Saint-Amans on
Luxembourg's controversial tax rulings, the significance of the
Luxembourg Leaks revelations, and on what needs to happen for a fairer
international tax system.
Full interview
Luxembourg Finance Minister: 'European Commission Has No Authority to Request All of Our Rulings'
FULL TRANSCRIPT: Pierre Gramegna, Luxembourg’s Minister of Finance,
defended his country’s handling of controversial tax rulings in the wake
of ICIJ’s investigation into tax avoidance by major corporations.
Israeli Company 'Doing Good' Using Luxembourg Outpost
The international business and philanthropic group led by Israel’s
richest woman includes a Luxembourg subsidiary that shares its address
with more than 1200 other companies, and uses complex financial
structures.
Reaction
‘Lux Leaks’ Revelations Bring Swift Response Around World
Luxembourg may face new investigations into its tax policies as it
scrambles to defend itself following an ICIJ investigation that has
exposed hundreds of secret tax deals handed to some of the world’s
largest multinational companies.
Tax bill deconstructed
Why IKEA’s Australian Profits Are Mostly Tax Free
Despite reporting decades of miserable results, IKEA’s Australian arm
has earned an estimated $1 billion in profits since 2003, and almost all
of it has been exported tax-free.
Real estate deals
Canadian Federal Pension Board Used Offshore Deal to Skirt Foreign Taxes
A Canadian federal agency set up European shell companies and exploited
loopholes that helped it avoid paying foreign taxes — a move that could
internationally undermine Canada's stance on corporate tax avoidance.
Complex tax structures
Dyson, Glanbia Among British and Irish Firms Using Luxembourg to Cut Tax Bills
Investigations by The Guardian and The Irish Times
has uncovered the multi-billion dollar secrets of some of the world’s
largest multinationals, including British and Irish-headquartered firms
like Shire, Dyson, and Glanbia.
'Intangible assets'
Brazilian Banks Cut Secret Deal with Luxembourg to Save $90.2M in Tax
PricewaterhouseCoopers helped three Brazilian banks use Luxembourg
operations to claim write offs for “intangible assets” that allowed them
to sidestep nearly $90 million in taxes between them, according to
analysis by Folha de S. Paulo.
Australia responds
‘We Will Take Action:’ Australian Tax Chief Calls For Global Probe Into Leak Revelations
Australia’s tax chief may go after some of the country’s biggest
corporations for potential discrepancies in their tax payments following
the release of confidential agreements made between Luxembourg and
multinational corporations.
Worldwide collaboration
‘This story is global, it can only be told with a global eye’
French journalist Edouard Perrin broadcast his first program on the
Luxembourg Leaks documents in 2012. Here he reflects on how the story
has grown in collaboration with ICIJ and its partners.
AMERICAN COMPANIES EXPOSED FOR THEIR TAX AVOIDANCE SCHEMES IN LUXEMBOURG LEAKS.....
ICIJ’s Luxembourg Leaks
investigation is based on a confidential cache of secret tax agreements
approved by Luxembourg authorities, that provide tax-relief for more
than 340 companies around the world. These private deals are legal in
Luxembourg.
In this interactive application ICIJ has created a visual and searchable database of 548 tax rulings that have been approved by Luxembourg officials with a stamped and signed confirmation letter. In addition, ICIJ is publishing 16 other documents -- such as corporate tax returns -- related to companies in Luxembourg.
In this interactive application ICIJ has created a visual and searchable database of 548 tax rulings that have been approved by Luxembourg officials with a stamped and signed confirmation letter. In addition, ICIJ is publishing 16 other documents -- such as corporate tax returns -- related to companies in Luxembourg.
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More information:
Luxembourg tax files: how tiny state rubber-stamped tax avoidance on an industrial scale, 6 Nov 2014, The Guardian.
Luxembourg leaks: global companies’ secrets exposed, 6 November 2014, International Consortium of Investigative Journalists PM
Xavier Bettel says Luxembourg abiding by international rules on tax, 6 November 2014, Economic Times.
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