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OECD tax deal is a mockery of fairness: Oxfam

In response to the OECD’s tax deal announced today, Oxfam’s Tax Policy Lead Susana Ruiz said: “Today’s tax deal was meant to end tax havens for good. Instead it was written by them.”

“This deal is a shameful and dangerous capitulation to the low-tax model of nations like Ireland. It is a mockery of fairness that robs pandemic-ravaged developing countries of badly needed revenue for hospitals and teachers and better jobs. The world is experiencing the largest increase in poverty in decades and a massive explosion in inequality but this deal will do little or nothing to halt either. Instead, it is already being seen by some wealthy nations as an excuse to cut domestic corporate tax rates, risking a new race to the bottom.

“Calling this deal ‘historic’ is hypocritical and does not hold up to even the most minor scrutiny. The tax devil is in the details, including a complex web of exemptions that could let big offenders like Amazon off the hook. At the last minute a colossal 10-year grace period was slapped onto the global corporate tax of 15 percent, and additional loopholes leave it with practically no teeth.

“This deal is an unacceptable injustice. It needs a complete overhaul. The OECD and the G20 must bring fairness and ambition back to the table and deliver a tax plan that won’t leave the rest of the world to pick up their crumbs and scraps.”

Notes to editor

140 countries have been negotiating the two-pillar tax framework under the OECD-G20 umbrella. The first ‘pillar’ aims to make the world’s largest corporations pay more taxes in the country where they earn profits. Based on current proposals, Oxfam estimates that it will affect only 69 multinationals and would only apply on ‘super profits’ above 10 percent. Loopholes could let the likes of Amazon and ‘onshore’ secrecy jurisdictions like the City of London off the hook. Extractives and regulated financial services are excluded from the deal.

New analysis by Oxfam estimates that 52 developing countries would receive around 0.025 percent of their collective GDP in additional annual tax revenue from the ‘Pillar One’ proposal endorsed today.

The second ‘pillar’ seeks a global minimum corporate tax rate. The OECD tax plan dropped “at least” from a proposed minimum global corporate tax rate of “at least 15 percent” and further delayed its full implementation from the previously planned 5 years to 10 years.

The 15 percent rate is well below the UN Financial Accountability, Transparency and Integrity (FACTI) Panel recommendation made earlier this year, which called for a 20- to 30-percent global corporate tax on profits. The Independent Commission for the Reform of International Corporate Taxation (ICRICT) has called for a 25 percent global minimum tax to be applied. 

A 25 percent global minimum corporate tax rate would raise nearly $17 billion more for the world’s 38 poorest countries (for which data is available) than a 15 percent rate. These countries are home to 38.6 percent of the world’s population.

Developing countries are more heavily reliant on corporate tax. In 2018, African countries raised 19 percent of their overall revenue from corporate tax, compared to just 10 percent for OECD nations.

Detention as the Default Report

Greece is turning more and more to the practice of administrative detention to manage people who arrive in Greece to claim asylum. This is according to the new report, Detention as the Default, from the Greek Council for Refugees (GCR) and Oxfam. The report found:

  • An excessive use of administrative detention with nearly 3,000 migrants in detention as of June 2021.
  • 7 out of 10 irregular migrants are put in administrative detention with the majority remaining detained when applying for asylum.
  • 1 in 5 people are detained for a long period of time in police cells which are designed to only hold people for just a few hours.
  • Pregnant women, children and people with vulnerabilities are being placed in detention without the appropriate access to health care and legal aid.
  • Nearly half of migrants (46%) in administrative detention remain there for over 6 months.

The desire to make detention the norm is reflected in recent changes to Greece’s policy and practice. This is despite European law saying that administrative detention should only be used as a last resort. In 2019, the Greek authorities expanded the grounds for administrative detention of asylum seekers to include verification of identity. They also removed the need to examine alternatives to detention in certain circumstances and introduced an amendment to increase the duration of detention up to 3 years.  This approach is in clear violation of European and Greek law.

Vasilis Papastergiou, Legal expert at the Greek Council for said:

“Administrative detention is just another tool to stop people from seeking safety in Europe. While the Greek authorities refuse to look at other less severe options to detention, like frequent check-ins, the Greek courts often turn down appeals to detention, even in the most shocking of circumstances like the appeal of a heavily pregnant woman. Europe’s hands are also not clean as the EU funds the new ‘closed and controlled’ quasi-detention centres, places where migrants are left to be forgotten. 

“In Greece, the detention of migrants is the rule, not the exception. Not only is it against international and European asylum law, but it also carries with it a heavy moral and financial cost.”

Testimonies gathered by the Greek Council for Refugees (GCR) expose the real story of people stuck in administrative detention.

Syrian man who spent 9 months in a cell.

The Greek authorities put Omar*, a Syrian national, into detention when he applied for asylum. Omar said: “we were locked in our cells for 22 hours a day – no mobile phone, no visits, disgusting food. We often had to beg the guards to unlock us to go to the toilet. And sometimes this was not even possible.”

The child trapped by the pandemic.

Mohammed* was a child when he arrived in Greece. He asked to join his family in another European country. His application was successful, but his flight to join his family was cancelled due to the start of the pandemic. While waiting for Covid-19 restrictions to lift, he turned eighteen and had to leave the child protection services and move into an apartment. After an incident, he rang the police fearing for his safety. Instead of helping him, the police put him in detention. He was in detention for months as the family reunification unit where unable to find him due to the Greek authority’s administrative failures. His mental health deteriorated, and he attempted suicide. Despite Mohammed’s poor physical and mental health, the authorities put him back in a cell after his hospitalisation. Following many interventions by GCR, he was finally allowed to be reunited with his family after eight months of being detained.

The detainee denied life-saving medical treatment.

Amir-Ali*, an Iranian asylum-seeker did not receive the vital medication needed to stop his body from rejecting a kidney transplant despite the detention centres doctor stating his condition was life-threatening. This left Amir-Ali fearing for his life while in detention. He is now out of detention after months of interventions from GCR and the Greek Ombudsman.

The survivor of violence still stuck in detention.

In Kos, the Greek authorities automatically put asylum seekers in detention if they come from a country with an asylum recognition rate below 33 per cent. Gloria* arrived to Kos, and as she was from Togo, she was automatically put in detention. Despite being classed as a person with vulnerabilities as she was a survivor of sexual and physical violence, the Greek authorities did not provide her with treatment. In detention, her mental health deteriorated, and Gloria attempted suicide. After being hospitalised, she was put back in detention where she remained until GCR successfully got her out.

Erin McKay, European Migration Campaign Manager at Oxfam said:

“These stories shine a light on the heartless and shocking conditions in detention. We see people die in detention from preventable illnesses and from taking their own lives out of complete desperation. We see children in detention and pregnant women. The people in detention speak of their sense of abandonment and the huge deterioration of their mental health. Detention of migrants and asylum seekers is not and cannot be the default. The Greek authorities must use alternatives to detention and not punish people for wanting to build a life in Europe.”

Notes to editors:    

Read the new report from the Greek Council for Refugees and Oxfam, Detention as the Default: How Greece, with the support of the EU, is generalizing administrative detention of migrants.

Spokespeople are available in Athens and Lesbos (English, Greek) and in Brussels (English).    

Nearly 3,000 (2,392) third-country nationals are in administrative detention as of June 2021 because they do not hold papers to be in Greece.

In 2016, the total number of persons detained was 14,864, of which 4,072 were asylum seekers. By 2019, this number had doubled to 30,007, of which 23,348 were asylum seekers. There was a decrease in 2020 (14993 people, of which 10.130 were asylum seekers). This decrease is due to the impact of the pandemic with less arrivals and restrictions on the amount of people in detention.

The European Court of Human Rights has ruled in two separate cases in 2018 and 2019 that the prolonged detention in police stations breaches the prohibition on torture as per Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights, noting that ‘police stations per se … are places designed to accommodate people for a short time only’. Despite this, the Greek authorities continue this unacceptable practice.

Names of persons in testimonies changes to protect anonymity.   

EU blacklist must penalise tax havens, not punish poor countries

Today, European economic and finance ministers met to approve an update to the EU’s list of tax havens. This comes in the midst of the unfolding Pandora papers scandal and global tax negotiations.

In response, Chiara Putaturo, Oxfam’s EU Tax expert, said:

“The EU blacklist should penalise tax havens. Instead, it lets them off the hook. Today’s decision to delist Anguilla, the only remaining jurisdiction with a zero per cent tax rate, and the Seychelles, which are at the heart of the latest tax scandal, renders the EU’s blacklist a joke. While the Pandora Papers investigation blew the lid on how the super-rich continue to use tax havens to avoid paying their taxes, ordinary people are asked to foot the Covid-19 recovery bill.

“The EU is shutting its eyes to real tax havens while considering blacklisting poor countries who do not sign up to the imminent global tax agreement. This deal is unfair as it benefits rich countries and ignores the needs of poor countries. Instead of using the blacklist as a tool to force poor countries into accepting an unfair tax deal, the EU should reform the list’s criteria to target real tax havens.

“In the next months, European governments have the opportunity to reform the EU’s blacklist. They must blacklist zero per cent and very low tax jurisdictions, set up indicators to detect where companies have fake economic activity and require transparency of their real owner. The reform must make the blacklist fit for purpose. Otherwise, the list will remain a whitewashing tool which allows the wealthiest and the most profitable companies to continue escaping their fair share of taxes.”

Notes to editor

  • Today, European governments published a revised list of blacklisted countries. The list removed Anguilla, Dominica and Seychelles from the blacklist.
  • EU countries and the European Commission are currently revising the criteria of the EU blacklist. This should be finalised in early 2022.
  • In a new media briefing, Oxfam explains why the current list does not capture real tax havens, why it is unfair and what should be changed.
  • An agreement on global tax reforms (BEPS2) negotiated by OECD Inclusive Framework countries is likely to be endorsed by G20 leaders at the end of October. This package contains two pillars. Pillar 1 introduces the right to tax big multinationals based on where they make their sales. Pillar 2 establishes a global minimum corporate tax rate of 15%. Countries must endorse both pillars as one package. In the next days, Oxfam will publish a new analysis with evidence of the unfairness of the OECD proposal.
  • In the Communication on Business Taxation for the 21st century, the European Commission announced plans to introduce future criteria requiring the endorsement of the global tax reforms.
  • On Sunday, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) published the Pandora Papers investigation which showed how wealthy individuals use tax havens to hide their fortune or to escape taxes. Almost none of the countries identified as secret jurisdictions features in the EU blacklist. Seychelles was one of the most mentioned jurisdictions and was delisted from the EU’s blacklist today. Introducing a criterion of the list to make sure that the person who owns or controls the company (beneficial owner) is disclosed can increase transparency and help capture some of these jurisdictions. European governments have been considering introducing this type of measure for many years. They are now waiting for the overall reform of the criteria to introduce this measure.

The Food System Summit failed hundreds of millions going hungry everyday – Oxfam reaction

In reaction to the United Nations Food Systems Summit which was held over the past two days, Thierry Kesteloot, Oxfam’s food policy advisor said:

“The Food Systems Summit has failed hundreds of millions who are going hungry every day, by offering elitist and mere band-aid solutions rather than tackling the root causes of our broken global food system.

“We cannot end the hunger pandemic without addressing the climate crisis, the erosion of agricultural biodiversity, or the deep inequalities and human rights violations that perpetuate poverty, hunger and malnutrition.

“The Summit ambitions fell short in realising the right to adequate food for all and paled next to a catastrophic hunger crisis that is being made worse by the economic fallout of the coronavirus. 11 people are likely dying every minute from hunger, and three billion people, many of whom are women, cannot afford even the most basic healthy diet.

“Oxfam’s report “Ripe for Change” shows that big supermarkets and other corporate food giants dominate global food markets, allowing them to squeeze value from vast supply chains that span the globe, while the bargaining power of small-scale farmers and women workers who make the food we eat, has steadily eroded.

Yet, the Summit ignored proven solutions and failed to address needed policy actions to radically transform food systems. Instead, it has catered to the interests of a handful of food and agribusiness giants, while side-lining most food and smallholder farmers organisations at the forefront of food production.

“To fix our broken food system, governments must first guarantee the rights of food workers, smallholder farmers and marginalised people, by putting a fair, gender-just, resilient and sustainable global food system at the heart of the post-pandemic recovery. Governments must also support a global social protection scheme to help people overcome poverty and hunger.

“Without putting the rights and needs of small-scale farmers and food workers at the heart of transforming our global food systems, any solutions will only fuel further inequality and hunger.”

 

Notes:

Oxfam Aotearoa commends MFAT on export controls system review

Oxfam Aotearoa commends the release from Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta, that welcomes the findings of an independent review into Aotearoa New Zealand’s export controls system. Executive Director of Oxfam Aotearoa Rachel Le Mesurier said:  

“This is a very welcome step towards improving New Zealand’s ability to uphold international human rights standards and prevent human rights abuses. We congratulate Minister Mahuta and the Government for their efficiency in undertaking a review, releasing the findings publicly, and supporting the recommendations for reform. 

“We welcome the recommendation for legislative reform to make the regime clearer and simpler to implement. We are particularly pleased to see the recommendation for greater transparency and to build public confidence in the regime.” 

Earlier this year, Oxfam Aotearoa called for a transparent, public investigation into the New Zealand Government’s export control regime in the wake of the revelation that Air New Zealand worked on military equipment that went to Saudi Arabia–a military the UN accused of potential war crimes in Yemen. 

“We look forward to further engagement with MFAT as they implement the review’s recommendations, including the review and refresh of the assessment criteria,” said Le Mesurier. 

Third COVID wave engulfs Yemen with 99 per cent of people unvaccinated

Yemenis are battling a third wave of COVID, which threatens 99 per cent of the population who are unvaccinated, Oxfam said today.

Recorded cases of COVID have tripled and the death rate has risen by more than fivefold (420 per cent) in the last month.  Excluded from these figures are countless undiagnosed deaths of people in their homes due to the scarcity of tests and hospital beds. Nor does the official death toll of 1649 include the vast majority of Yemeni people who live in the north of the country where COVID-related data is not available.

Despite promises that COVAX, the global initiative to deliver vaccines, would achieve at least 23 per cent vaccination coverage in all member countries by the end of this year, less than one per cent of Yemen’s 30.5 million people have so far received one dose and only 0.05 per cent of the population are fully vaccinated.

Half-way through the year the COVAX scheme was already short by 88 per cent of the promised doses for Yemen, having delivered just 511,000 of 4.2 million. Fears that Yemen’s only source of vaccines to date will fail the country again increased last week when the initiative announced it was a half a billion doses short of its global supply target.

Muhsin Siddiquey, Oxfam’s in Yemen’s country director, said: “Yemen has the one of the highest COVID fatality rates in the world – it simply can’t cope with this virus. The conflict has decimated the already fragile healthcare system. Many people are very weak because they can’t afford to feed themselves properly or to buy basic medicines. Others are unable to afford the cost of transportation to a medical centre because of the ongoing fuel crisis.

“Vaccination is a simple solution that would save lives, but the international community is failing the people of Yemen who need doses now. We need the vaccines that have been promised but it is also shameful that having bought up all the vaccines for themselves rich countries like the UK and Germany are blocking the solutions that would see the rights and recipes of these lifesaving vaccines shared so that more can be produced for countries like Yemen.  Protecting lives should be more important than protecting the outsized profits of pharmaceutical corporations who have already made billions from this crisis.”

Over four million Yemenis have been displaced during the conflict with around two million living in Marib, currently the site of fierce fighting. Conditions in the camps are dire, many people have no access to clean water, sanitation facilities or healthcare. Salma Qassem*, a midwife who has been living one of Marib’s camps for the last two years, said:

“I was first displaced six years ago.  Some people here do not believe COVID exists. Though we have had many cases here in the camps, people haven’t yet realised that the pandemic is spreading. Shelter is the biggest obstacle for Internally Displaced People like us. Some people want to follow the precautions, but they can’t afford it for economic reasons. It is very difficult in terms of isolation for us to face COVID here in the camp especially if anyone is affected, how and where shall we isolate them? “

According to the UN two out of three Yemenis lack access to healthcare services. Seven years on from the start of the conflict, only an estimated half of healthcare facilities are still operating. An estimated 20 million Yemenis need healthcare assistance including 5.9 million children. Sources report that Yemen’s doctors in public hospitals have been working unpaid with some sleeping in hospitals and clinics as they cannot afford accommodation. 

This year the UN requested donor countries to provide $3.9 billion for essential humanitarian aid – so far less than half has been donated with healthcare only receiving 11 per cent of the funds it needs

 

Ends

*Name changed to protect identity

 

Notes

Oxfam Yemen’s Policy and Advocacy lead Abdulwasea Mohammed is available for interview (English or Arabic)

Broadcast quality footage of Salma Qassem talking about COVID in the Camp where she lives is available plus B roll of the camp and crowded local markets

COVID STATS:

Number of cases of Covid 20 Aug-19 September 2021 = 1260

Number of cases of Covid 20 July – 19 August 2021 = 420

Number of deaths due to COVID 20 Aug – 19 September 2021 = 229

Number of deaths due to COVID 20 July – 19 August 2021 = 44

Source – Johns Hopkins University

Vaccine supply raw data from Airfinity, Vaccination raw data from Our World in Data (All vaccine data from 20.09.21)

COVAX Total supply of COVID-19 vaccine doses

4,191,600

COVAX Total vaccine deliveries

511,000

Delivery as % of total supply

12%

Doses administered

322,934

Population fully vaccinated

0.05%

Population partially vaccinated

0.96%

Source for Covax vaccine supply stats:  – https://www.who.int/news/item/08-09-2021-joint-covax-statement-on-supply-forecast-for-2021-and-early-2022

The IRG government in the South of Yemen closed schools last week (w/c 13 September)

Latest key figures on IDPs https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/yemen-unhcr-operational-update-covering-period-24-august-3-september-2021

COVAX = COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access, a worldwide initiative aimed at equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines directed by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, and the World Health Organization

Yemen healthcare needs https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/yemen-humanitarian-response-plan-2021-march-2021-enar

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Oxfam is a worldwide development organisation that mobilises the power of people against injustice. Oxfam Aotearoa is a registered charity with the New Zealand Charities Register (registration CC24641). Donations are tax refundable.

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