[VIDEO] PM Imran Khan calls upon 'tax havens' to return stolen wealth of developing countries

[MenInG]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Live Stream: Prime Minister <a href="https://twitter.com/ImranKhanPTI?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ImranKhanPTI</a>'s Statement at High-Level Panel on Financial Accountability, Transparency & Integrity (FACTI) at the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/UNGA75?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#UNGA75</a> sidelines. (24.09.2020)<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PMIKatUNGA?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PMIKatUNGA</a> <a href="https://t.co/NqTGQMeW8q">https://t.co/NqTGQMeW8q</a></p>— Prime Minister's Office, Pakistan (@PakPMO) <a href="https://twitter.com/PakPMO/status/1309120435494289409?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 24, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>https://www.geo.tv/latest/309709-pm-imran-khan

Prime Minister Imran Khan while addressing the United Nations International Financial Accountability, Transparency and Integrity (FACTI) panel on Thursday, called upon countries he termed "tax havens" to "adopt decisive actions" and return wealth looted from developed countries.

"We welcome the interim report of the FACTI panel. The figures [...] mentioned in the report are staggering," said the premier.

He said that $1tn is taken out each year "by these white collar criminals".

"$20-40 billion is in the form of bribes received by these corrupt white collar criminals," PM Imran added.


Listing other findings, he noted that $7 trillion in stolen assets is parked in these safe tax haven destinations and $500-600bn is lost each year in tax avoidance by multinational companies.

"This bleeding of the poor and developing countries must stop," the premier urged.

He called upon the international community to "adopt decisive actions", before proceeding to list 9 recommendations:

1. The stolen assets of developing countries including proceeds of corruption, bribery and other crimes must be returned immediately.

2. The authorities in haven destinations must impose criminal and financial penalties on their financial institutions which receive and utilise such money and assets.

3. The enablers of corruption and bribery, such as accountants and lawyers and other intermediaries must be closely regulated, monitored and held accountable.

4. The beneficial ownership of foreign companies must be revealed immediately upon inquiry by the interested and affected governments.

5. Multinational corporations must not be allowed to resort to profit shifting to low tax jurisdictions for avoiding taxation. A global minimum corporate tax could prevent this practice.

6. Revenues from digital transactions should be taxed where the revenues are generated, not elsewhere.

7. Unequal investment treaties should be discarded or revised and a fair system for adjudication of investment disputes set up.

8. All official and non-official bodies set up to control and monitor illicit financial flaws must include all the interested countries.

9. The UN should set up a mechanism to coordinate and supervise the work of the various official and non-official bodies dealing with illicit financial flaws to ensure coherence, consistency and equity in their work.

The premier said that in the backdrop of the recession triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic, there is an even greater need for developing countries "to protect and preserve their precious resources".

"Unless these steps are taken, the difference between the rich and poor countries will keep growing. The developing countries will get impoverished and what we see of the current migration crisis will be dwarfed by what will happen in the future," PM Imran warned.

UNGA address on Sept 25
Prime Minister Imran Khan is slated to address the 75th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) via video link on September 25, according to an initial list of speakers officially released on Tuesday.

The general debate of the 193-member assembly, which is traditionally a high-profile annual UN event, opened on September 22. However, this year it is a slimmed-down affair, with world leaders staying away from New York because of the coronavirus pandemic.

They will be contributing set piece speeches via video link.

According to the list, PM Imran, who last year made his debut at the UN as head of state, is the sixth speaker in the afternoon session on September 25.

“I expect that the prime minister will once again raise the cause of the Kashmiri people for self-determination and aazadi [freedom] from Indian oppression," Pakistan’s ambassador to the UN Munir Akram told APP.

Akram added that the prime minister will also talk about Pakistan’s facilitation of and hopes for the peace process in Afghanistan, its successful response to the coronavirus crisis, debt relief for developing countries and other international issues in his wide-ranging address.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to speak on September 26, a day after PM Imran's address.

https://www.geo.tv/latest/309709-pm-imran-khan

 

[topspin]

Basically begging for handouts. This guy is an embarrassment and has no shame whatsoever.

If you're gonna make bold claims and promises but then fail to deliver, don't blame other countries for your mistakes.

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

Basically begging for handouts. This guy is an embarrassment and has no shame whatsoever.

If you're gonna make bold claims and promises but then fail to deliver, don't blame other countries for your mistakes.

He's asking for the return of stolen assets, not begging for handouts.

 

[Extra_Cover]

This is a lost cause Imran is fighting for. He is basically asking for ethical decision making by the top boards. Due to corruption and subsequent money laundering practices the people that have benefitted the most are the people sitting at the decision making tables. Having preventive measures in place would result in lower wealth being driving into developed world resulting in lower financial budgets of these boards itself. Its a lost cause unfortunately.

For someone who doesn't understand how this works need not look beyond the Iraq war. History is a great lesson in understanding principles the boom of US oil refineries post Iraq war was not out of the blue, albeit it was completely built on resources of a different country over which US had no rights. However, the people sitting on top of large oil companies and diversifying their portfolio from this boom were people in White House. They were the people funding the underlying financial act bodies, so how can any such body put such a practice in place that would limit their own financial fundings.

 

[Star_Coffee]

Basically begging for handouts. This guy is an embarrassment and has no shame whatsoever.

If you're gonna make bold claims and promises but then fail to deliver, don't blame other countries for your mistakes.

What? what did you read?

 

[Savak]

Naik khayaalat but sadly the reality of the world will not permit. It will take a miracle for the West to develop a conscious and to help well meaning third world rulers retrieve looted wealth back into the country.

 

[Bewal Express]

Basically begging for handouts. This guy is an embarrassment and has no shame whatsoever.

If you're gonna make bold claims and promises but then fail to deliver, don't blame other countries for your mistakes.

Is it me or you just a fool? If i steal your belongings, when you ask for them to be returned, is that begging?

 

[Savak]

Basically begging for handouts. This guy is an embarrassment and has no shame whatsoever.

If you're gonna make bold claims and promises but then fail to deliver, don't blame other countries for your mistakes.

An extremely badniyat post

 

[sweep_shot]

I agree with Imran Khan here.

Tax havens have a responsibility. They shouldn't store looted wealth of corrupt people. They should be sanctioned if they don't cooperate.

 

[gani999]

I agree with Imran Khan here.

Tax havens have a responsibility. They shouldn't store looted wealth of corrupt people. They should be sanctioned if they don't cooperate.

Khan sahab needs to understand better how tax havens work. He is probably thinking that Pakistani businessmen are taking out cash in boxes and shipping them off to some remote island. I don't blame him as politicians in many countries are similarly clueless.

There is no real foreign money in these so-called tax havens. Even if there is, it is a relatively small percentage of the actual sum that the tax evader possesses.

In India, most of the so-called 'black money' is actually either in India itself or is in the form of investments in stocks or real estate in various places. It is the same everywhere, including Pakistan. Only a certified i***t would park all his/her money in a small island, and rich people usually aren't stupid.

 

[Forward Defensive Push]

He has raised it for public consumption but even he knows this money can't be recovered. Classic Imran.

 

[Savak]

Khan sahab needs to understand better how tax havens work. He is probably thinking that Pakistani businessmen are taking out cash in boxes and shipping them off to some remote island. I don't blame him as politicians in many countries are similarly clueless.

There is no real foreign money in these so-called tax havens. Even if there is, it is a relatively small percentage of the actual sum that the tax evader possesses.

In India, most of the so-called 'black money' is actually either in India itself or is in the form of investments in stocks or real estate in various places. It is the same everywhere, including Pakistan. Only a certified i***t would park all his/her money in a small island, and rich people usually aren't stupid.

What i have heard is that the really smart crooks leave no real money trail, they don't transfer funds electronically, they use physical means, they buy diamonds, middle men, intermediaries and hence they make it very puzzling for investigators to get evidence

 

[topspin]

Basically begging for handouts. This guy is an embarrassment and has no shame whatsoever.

If you're gonna make bold claims and promises but then fail to deliver, don't blame other countries for your mistakes.

Is it me or you just a fool? If i steal your belongings, when you ask for them to be returned, is that begging?

We were promised for all looted wealth to be retrieved in a very short space of time if he was to become leader, but because he has failed, he needs to divert the attention away from himself and blame someone else.

It's the same tactics he used, when he blamed Bollywood for the rise in sex crimes in the subcontinent.

I want to see less excuses and instead see IK deliver on his promises.

 

[Bewal Express]

We were promised for all looted wealth to be retrieved in a very short space of time if he was to become leader, but because he has failed, he needs to divert the attention away from himself and blame someone else.

It's the same tactics he used, when he blamed Bollywood for the rise in sex crimes in the subcontinent.

I want to see less excuses and instead see IK deliver on his promises.

Your argument is total rubbish.His speech showed that those in whose countries the stolen wealth are not practicing what they are preaching about money laundering. What should he do? Invade? We have to start doing what they are doing when it comes to FATF and other areas and that is ask serious questions, which is what he did. You want him to stay quiet, but as you know IK has always won and soon other honest leaders in poor countries will ask the same questions

 

[gani999]

What i have heard is that the really smart crooks leave no real money trail, they don't transfer funds electronically, they use physical means, they buy diamonds, middle men, intermediaries and hence they make it very puzzling for investigators to get evidence

In most cases very little money is physically transferred, by any means.

Tax havens usually work though what are called 'shell companies'. Let's say you are a business man in Pakistan making huge profits that you wish to hide from the Pakistani tax authorities. So what do you do? You approach a tax haven which registers a fictitious company (shell company) in your name in return for a small percentage of the money (usually much less than the tax you will pay in your home country). You then create paperwork to show that most of your income is actually being generated by the shell company in the tax haven, and so that income is subject to the tax haven's and not your home country's laws. The authorities in tax havens usually provide all the documentation you need. That way you avoid your local tax laws as they cannot really tax any income that is not generated there (officially). Your home government may still charge a small tax on your wealth, but it will be much less than the capital gains tax you will have to pay if you were to declare all your profits in your home country.
So basically your money has not even left Pakistan, the country where you made it in the first place. Only a small percentage that you paid the tax haven as commission for the fake company did.

In the end, you benefit by getting your tax reduced, and the tax haven gets your payment merely for providing you with an address (in most cases these shell companies are mere PO addresses). So win-win for both. Who loses? Your home country in whose market you are generating all your revenue, and to whom you owe tax.

That's it in a nutshell. There are several other ways of using tax havens which I won't go into here.

 

[gani999]

In most cases very little money is physically transferred, by any means.

Tax havens usually work though what are called 'shell companies'. Let's say you are a business man in Pakistan making huge profits that you wish to hide from the Pakistani tax authorities. So what do you do? You approach a tax haven which registers a fictitious company (shell company) in your name in return for a small percentage of the money (usually much less than the tax you will pay in your home country). You then create paperwork to show that most of your income is actually being generated by the shell company in the tax haven, and so that income is subject to the tax haven's and not your home country's laws. The authorities in tax havens usually provide all the documentation you need. That way you avoid your local tax laws as they cannot really tax any income that is not generated there (officially). Your home government may still charge a small tax on your wealth, but it will be much less than the capital gains tax you will have to pay if you were to declare all your profits in your home country.
So basically your money has not even left Pakistan, the country where you made it in the first place. Only a small percentage that you paid the tax haven as commission for the fake company did.

In the end, you benefit by getting your tax reduced, and the tax haven gets your payment merely for providing you with an address (in most cases these shell companies are mere PO addresses). So win-win for both. Who loses? Your home country in whose market you are generating all your revenue, and to whom you owe tax.

That's it in a nutshell. There are several other ways of using tax havens which I won't go into here.

Sorry, not capital gains but corporate tax.

 

[Star_Coffee]

We were promised for all looted wealth to be retrieved in a very short space of time if he was to become leader, but because he has failed, he needs to divert the attention away from himself and blame someone else.

It's the same tactics he used, when he blamed Bollywood for the rise in sex crimes in the subcontinent.

I want to see less excuses and instead see IK deliver on his promises.

You weren't promised anything, you were promised an attempt to make Pakistan better.

And if you were to hold every politician for not able to fulfill all the talking points at a rally then you'll have no politician left to elect - it is foolishness on your behalf which you are projecting on others.

But all of that is fine, can you please explain how's asking world leader to do something about returning looted money from poor countries - that was your original comment and you seem to be diverting from it.

 

[MenInG]

Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday reminded the international community of the crucial need for developing countries to be provided debt relief in the backdrop of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic which has hit developing economies hard.

He called upon the G20 countries in particular to extend the Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI) for another year.

"The request for forbearance under this initiative should not affect the country's credit rating. This is due to force majeure, not mismanagement," the prime minister underscored, while addressing the Financing for Development High-Level Summit on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.

"We must break the shackles of poverty and inequality," the prime minister stressed.

The prime minister, speaking of Pakistan's fight against the virus, said that despite the country's financial constraints "we have injected over $8bn, [nearly] 3% of our GDP to protect our poor and keep the economy going".

"Debt relief is one of the quickest ways to create fiscal space for developing countries. Therefore, in April, I called for a global initiative on debt relief," said the prime minister.

He said that subsequently, Pakistan initiated discussions on this matter at the United Nations and co-led the discussion group on debt vulnerability.

"I welcome the extensive menu of options by each of the six discussion groups. We must prioritise those actions that can have a significant impact and can be quickly implemented," the premier said


Prime Minister Imran Khan said that multi-national development banks should participate in debt suspension initiatives.

He also called for other short measures which could cover both official and private creditors, including:

- Debt swaps, for health, climate and sustainable development goals (SDGs)
- Debt buybacks
- Re-profiling debt
- Regional resilience funds

The prime minister said that investment in "sustainable infrastructure will be key to economic recovery and realisation of SDGs".

He recommended the creation of a UN infrastructure investment facility "to mobilise an additional $1.5 trillion annually for the developing countries".

The premier, citing findings by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), said that the developing countries would require "an additional $2.5tr to recover from COVID-induced contraction".

He urged the rich countries to support the creation of "at least $500 billion in special drawing rights and relocation of unutilised SDRs (special drawing rights)".

Prime Minister Imran Khan, before concluding, underscored that recovery from recession in a post-pandemic world "must be inclusive and equitable".

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Live Stream: Prime Minister <a href="https://twitter.com/ImranKhanPTI?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ImranKhanPTI</a> addressing the Financing for Development High-Level Summit on the sidelines of the 75th Session of the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/UNGA?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#UNGA</a> (29.09.2020)<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PrimeMinisterImranKhan?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PrimeMinisterImranKhan</a> <a href="https://t.co/o6xh79xvs7">https://t.co/o6xh79xvs7</a></p>— Prime Minister's Office, Pakistan (@PakPMO) <a href="https://twitter.com/PakPMO/status/1310941398913495040?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 29, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>


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