draining development.pdf - Khazar University

11Tax Havens and Illicit FlowsAlex CobhamMany citizens of developing (and developed) countries now have easyaccess to tax havens and the result is that these countries are losing to taxhavens almost three times what they get from developed countries in aid.If taxes on this income were collected billions of dollars would becomeavailable to finance development.—Jeffrey Owens, Director, Centre for Tax Policy Administration,Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development,January 2009We will set down new measures to crack down on those tax havens thatsiphon money from developing countries, money that could otherwisebe spent on bed nets, vaccinations, economic development and jobs.—Gordon Brown, Prime Minister, United Kingdom, March 2009We stand ready to take agreed action against those jurisdictionswhich do not meet international standards in relation to taxtransparency. . . . We are committed to developing proposals, by end2009, to make it easier for developing countries to secure the benefits ofa new cooperative tax environment.—G-20 Declaration, April 2009 1Additional tables and figures from this chapter can be found at http://go.worldbank.org/N2HMRB4G20.337