Transparency

Transparency is related to several concepts in the context of __corporate social responsibility__ (CSR) and __tax planning__. In recent years, there has been a lot of debate on __corporate social responsibility__ reporting and the payment of taxes by corporations and their associations with __tax havens__.


 * Transparency and taxes**

The CSR reports of corporations boast claims of transparency and __accountability__ and the highest standards of integrity in governance and communication practices. The payment of taxes is central to the notion of responsible __corporate citizenship__ but very few companies rarely volunteer any detailed responses on tax issues. Major corporations therefore produce reports of socially responsible conduct but this has also been accompanied by large-scale __tax avoidance__ and tax evasion.

Tax avoidance corrupts the revenue system of the modern state and weakens the ability of the state to provide services to its citizens and therefore, it should be considered the highest form of __corruption__. At present, the ‘secrecy spaces’ provided by __tax havens__ and the confidentiality agreements given by accountancy firms ensure that the transparency of several practices related to tax can be extremely low. Therefore, corporations and wealthy individuals involved in __tax evasion__ and __tax havens__ have generally had a high level of immunity from investigation by revenue and law enforcement agencies, and in most cases even the major international commercial investigation agencies, which all find it difficult if not impossible to penetrate the multi-jurisdictional structures created to cover up trails.


 * Transparency International**

Transparency International (TI) has played a commendable role in placing corruption onto the political agenda. Transparency International, created in 1993, is a global coalition against corruption. On their website, they pronounce that they have achieved the prosecution of corrupt leaders and seizures of their illicitly gained riches, as well as held companies accountable for their behavior both at home and abroad. Transparency International produces a Corruption Perception Index (CPI), which according to their website offers a warning that the abuse of power, secret dealings and bribery continue to ravage societies around the world.

Some criticism has been presented on the CPI, stating that it reinforces stereotypical perceptions about the geography of corruption and that these statistics provide a very partial perspective. Since 1995 the CPI has identified Africa as the most corrupt region of the world. However, a closer examination of the 2006 index revealed that half of the countries identified as “least corrupt” are __tax havens__, including Switzerland, UK and Luxembourg. This was seen to present an inadequacy of the current corruption discourse, in which fingers are pointed at a relatively select group of state officials instead of paying more attention to largely Western financial intermediaries and corporations actively involved in the world of __tax havens__.


 * Global Forums and Initiatives**

Increasing transparency, or in other words increasing attention to the actual taxes paid by corporations and wealthy individuals, can been seen as a way to decrease corruption and with it, discourage practices related to __tax avoidance__, __tax evasion__ and __tax havens__. Most problems posed by tax havens could be remedied by strengthening international cooperation.

The last decade has seen a host of major international initiatives against tax havens by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The OECD has placed great emphasis on the exchange of information between the respective authorities with regard to specific tax enquiry, which should be provided on an ‘upon request’ basis.

The __OECD’s Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information__ has developed agreements such as the __Tax Information Exchange Agreement (TIEA)__ and the __Automatic Exchange of Information__ in order to increase transparency and the effective exchange of information between countries.

Additionally, initiatives have been set up for different sectors of industry. One of these is the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), which has a stated aim of strengthening governance through improving transparency and accountability in the extractives sector. The EU agreed in April 2013 on requirements for oil, gas, mining and logging companies to declare payments to governments in those countries in which they operate.