1 Sun never sets on tax havens (San Francisco
Chronicle) There's one part of the British Empire on which the sun still does
not set: its tax havens. Britain's former world dominance has left it with a
string of tiny territories scattered around the globe, and many of them have
become hubs for hiding money. Despite growing political pressure, shutting down
these and other tax havens may be easier said than done.
The leak of 11.5 million documents from a Panamanian
law firm that specializes in discreet financial services for the wealthy has
brought renewed calls for a global clampdown on shadowy financial activity.
Many feel Britain bears an especially large duty to act. More than half the
200,000 companies set up for clients by Panamanian firm Mossack Fonseca in the
leaked files are registered in the British Virgin Islands, a British overseas
territory in the Caribbean.
As Britain's colonies gained independence after World
War II, London encouraged several small Caribbean islands to become tax havens
as a means to self-sufficiency. As a result, many of the world's tax havens
have British links, including overseas territories such as the British Virgin
Islands, Bermuda and the Cayman Islands.
Since 2008, the Organization for Economic
Cooperation and Development and the Group of 20 nations have persuaded more
than 90 countries to share financial data in a bid to crack down on secret
dealings. Fiona Fernie, head of tax investigations at the law firm Pinsent
Masons, said the resolve among governments was having a real effect.
Justin Urquhart Stewart of Seven Investment
Management said controversy over the huge leak could have the same effect on
nations like Panama that have benefited from attracting offshore money. "Panama
will be embarrassed into taking action to try to make sure this does not happen
again," he said. "But be wary — once you've shut down one tax haven,
lo and behold, you'll find there'll be another one along soon."
2 Panama Papers: Leaktivism comes of age (Micah
White in The Guardian) From an activist perspective, the importance of the
Panama Papers goes far beyond confirming what the 99% already suspected. Yes,
this gigantic leak provides more irrefutable evidence than ever that many among
the global political elite – the 1% – probably deserve to be in jail (while
paying their overdue taxes), not governing our world.
But that is not surprising news to many people. The
real significance of the Panama Papers is what the massive leak means for the
possibility of social change. The Panama Papers represents the coming-of-age of
leaktivism. This is the activist theory, most famously promoted by WikiLeaks,
that leaking truthful information is an effective form of social protest.
Of course, this isn’t a new idea – “you will know
the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32) – but with the rise of
global whistleblower activists like Julian Assange, Chelsea Manning and Edward
Snowden, leaking has become an increasingly celebrated tactic of contemporary
activism.
But will the Panama Papers actually result in
positive social change? Haven’t we seen massive information dumps from
WikiLeaks and Edward Snowden come and go without shifting the status quo? And
haven’t we watched the rich and powerful stay where they are after protesters
in 82 countries occupied financial districts in 2011 with the demand “get money
out of politics”? Yes, yes and yes.
The proper lesson to draw from these past failures
isn’t that we should give up, or stop protesting, but instead that the people
must break the script of activism and protest differently this time. Here’s
what that could look like.
The fundamental problem that the Panama Papers
brings to light is a question of global governance: the wrong people are in
power. The only way the 99% is going to solve that deeper problem is if a
social movement arises that is willing to use protest to swing elections in
multiple countries in order to take power and govern the world. The release of
the Panama Papers will be a success if it brings us even just one step closer
to realizing that higher goal.
3 A Yolo credit card for the millennials (Ann
Williams in Straits Times) YOLO (for "You only live once") is the
name of UOB's latest credit card offering for a segment of the population it
sees dominating consumer spending in the near future - millennials. The bank
said its millennial customers - meaning those aged 26-35 - outspent those older
on food and travel by 13 per cent last year.
Ms Jacquelyn Tan, UOB's managing director and
regional head of cards and payments, reckons that that within the next decade,
millennials' spending habits "will form the backbone of the future economy
as they will become the largest segment of the local workforce." Hence the
UOB YOLO card.
It will give its holders priority access to bars and
clubs, access to dining deals and rebates on travel websites. UOB YOLO
customers can also be among the first in Asia Pacific to make contactless
payments with tokenised security. All they have to do is tap their Android
smartphones at more than 10,000 compatible terminals in Singapore through the
Bank's mobile app UOB Mighty.
The card also features Southeast Asia's first 'quick
read' card face. Instead of the 16-digit card number laid out in a horizontal
line, the card numbers are laid out in a 4-by-4 stack on the top right hand
corner of the card, making it easier for customers to read when conducting
online transactions.
UOB said millennial spending currently accounts for
20 per cent of its total card spend and one in three millennials in Singapore
currently bank with it.
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