1.1 Introduction
The taxation of transnational corporations (TNCs) has
caused heated debates and generated strong criticism
from civil society in recent years. In the United Kingdom
(UK), protesters seized Starbucks branches in early 2013,
accusing the company of evading taxes. Many of the large
Internet and computer companies – but also companies
from other sectors – based in the United States (US) are suspected
of paying almost no taxes there, on their overseas
profits. In 2011, Argentina accused Glencore, the world’s
largest commodity trader, of tax evasion. In spring 2013,
the release of an extensive database on tax haven activities
(»offshore leaks«) pushed the global debate even further.
The G20 have been examining the issue of tax havens
for some time, stating in 2009 that »the era of banking
secrecy is over«. Together with the Organisation for
Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), they
set up a blacklist of tax havens – which, however, was
soon empty. In 2011, they renewed their commitment
with strong rhetoric and released another blacklist. Currently,
G20 finance ministers are again attempting to deal
with the issue, and at their meetings in February and April
2013, took some preliminary decisions to intensify efforts
to tax TNCs. In support of the G20, the OECD released
its report »Addressing Base Erosion and Profit Shifting«,
which illustrates aggressive tax avoidance methods (OECD
2013). For the September G20 summit, the OECD will present
an action plan to be endorsed by the heads of state.
This text is an introduction into the debate on taxing TNCs.
It gives an overview of the primary techniques TNCs use
to evade and avoid taxes, the role of tax havens for tax
evasion schemes, and solutions to the problem. Given the
complexity of the issue, this text is neither exhaustive on
tax havens in general, nor on the taxation of corporations
in specific, but shows how these issues are linked.