The non-governmental organisation Oxfam called on the Belgian government to punish banks and others who enable tax evasion, in a press release on Saturday. This comes after the new Panama Paper revelations, implicating companies like Dexia.
“Saturday’s new revelations remind us once again that Belgium must end the excessive use of tax havens; everyone loses out, including developing countries”. Because of this, Oxfam has called on Belgium to “punish banks, like Dexia, and others that enable tax evasion. It should also step up checks on countries with weak legislation that leaves the door open to tax evasion”, according to Leila Bodeux, head of unequal advocacy and tax at Oxfam.
The organisation says the revelations in the Panama Papers are just the tip of the iceberg, as the Mossack Fonseca agency in Panama “is far from the biggest company offering clandestine financial services”. The organisation wants Belgium to act, along with other EU Member States, to make transparent tax part of the European political agenda. It has asked Belgium to revise its tax system, which allows “large companies to artificially reduce their taxes to nearly 0 euros”.
(Source: Belga)
