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Talk is cheap in the clampdown on tax avoidance
This week it was the turn...of Apple to be the latest big international company to come under fire for adroit tax planning...[Yet,] [g]overnments are complicit in the problems they are condemning. It is their tax systems that have created incentives for businesses to behave in this way...The global effort to plug leaks in the tax system has been led by the OECD...But..[the OECD] secretary-general...told political leaders..."A meaningful action plan cannot be delivered by June unless you express strong political support.”...Those who benefit from current arrangements oppose any changes...The tax-planning gymnastics displayed by Apple this week may be a powerful reminder of the need for reform. But unless there is a change of heart among policy makers, a meaningful crackdown on avoidance is not going to get far. [Refers to Amazon, Apple, Google]