Tax justice seminar: Transnational corporations must pay their fair share PSI in the Caribbean – Tax justice, the tax haven issue and trade union action Presented by Sandra Massiah, PSI in the Caribbean PSI-FES Project Workshop Buenos Aires, Argentina November 9 – 10, 2015
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Tax justice seminar: Transnational corporations must pay their fair share PSI in the Caribbean – Tax justice, the tax haven issue and trade union action.
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Tax justice seminar:
Transnational corporations must pay their fair share
PSI in the Caribbean – Tax justice, the tax haven issue and trade union action
• Multiple languages (French, Dutch, English, Papiamento, Haitian Creole, Spanish)
• Government – parliamentary democracies and republics, including– Independent countries– British Overseas Territories– Countries in the Kingdom of the Netherlands
• Economies– Small, open – Highly vulnerable to external shocks– ‘Natural’ disasters and other climate change factors are major
threats to growth and sustainability
Tax justice:growth and development in the Caribbean
• Tax justice is one aspect of the on-going conversation on development, high debt, growth and sustainability of Caribbean economies:– Personal income tax– Corporate income tax– Tax reform– Financial services sector– Tax havens
Tax policies across the Caribbean
• Include combinations of:– Personal income tax– Corporate income tax– Consumption tax– Property tax– Small tax payers– Import tariffs
Importance of taxation in the Caribbean
• 3 main sources of revenue– taxation of capital, including physical capital and financial capital – taxation of labour – taxation on consumption
• Caribbean countries were always heavily dependent on taxes from customs duties (especially Antigua & Barbuda, Bahamas, Bermuda)
• With liberalisation of trade, this revenue declined substantially• Taxation on income and profits has now become important in
resource-based economies such as Trinidad & Tobago and Guyana• In service-based countries there is an increase in taxation of goods and
services (introduction of VAT in a number of economies– VAT and sales taxes have been introduced to make up for shortfall in revenue
from customs duties
Income Tax
• Varied income tax regimes throughout the sub-region– Some countries do not levy taxes on
personal income (Anguilla, Bahamas, Cayman Islands, Bermuda, St Kitts-Nevis)
– Others levy taxes depending on residency status
– In some there are flat rates (Belize, Jamaica – 25%)
– In others rates vary according to income levels - progressive
Value Added Tax (VAT) revenue
• Introduced in a number of countries to replace revenue lost from customs and import duties
Rate(%)
% of GDP
Barbados 17.5 10
Trinidad % Tobago 15 6Jamaica 16.5 8
Haïti 10 4
Total tax revenue as % of GDP
Suriname 32
Trinidad & Tobago 29
Barbados 27
Curaçao 26
Dominica 24
Jamaica, Belize 23
St Vincent & the Grenadines, Guyana, Anguilla 22
St Lucia, St Kitts-Nevis 21
Grenada, Antigua & Barbuda, Sint Maarten 18
Bahamas 16
Haiti 13
Tax havens
• Characteristics of tax havens– Nil or only nominal taxes on individuals or
businesses.– Protection of personal financial information. – Lack of transparency.
• Many lists of tax havens• Most comprehensive seems to be the one
from the Tax Justice Network
RANK Jurisdiction FSI-Value4 Secrecy Score5 Global Scale Weight6
• Comprises 27 jurisdictions* of the Caribbean Basin which have agreed to implement the international standards for – Anti-money Laundering– Combating the Financing of Terrorism
(AML/CFT) – Financial Action Task Force Recommendations
(FATF Recommendations)– Secretariat is in Port of Spain, T&T
*Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Curaçao, Dominica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guyana, Grenada, Guatemala, Haiti, Jamaica, Montserrat, Sint Maarten, St Lucia, St Kitts-Nevis, St Vincent & the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad & Tobago, Venezuela, Virgin Islands
Views on tax haven status
• “They’re always moving the goal post”• “These are attacks on our country, trying to ruin
our reputations globally”• “Well we certainly don’t see any of the money
that they’re talking about”• “Why don’t they talk about the big countries that
are tax havens? Why always focus on the Caribbean?”
Action by affiliates
• Participation in national consultations in many Caribbean countries on fiscal reform including reform of taxation
• Some PSI affiliates in CARICOM countries have been invited to be part of the CARICOM Task Force on government procurement (NUPW Barbados)
• Participated in Funding Democracy summit held in Ottawa, Canada in June 2015
• Make connections with CFATF
Linking with other GUFs
• There are some large companies and groups of companies owned by Caribbean nationals that have transnational reach (financial services, oil and by-products,
• Initial contact with UNI representative in the Caribbean to investigate/learn more about these companies and their record in paying taxes– Not very responsive
Priorities, future plans
• Nominated a representative from affiliate in Belize to serve on a Funding Democracy steering group
• Further discussions and develop more epecific action plans at 2016 SUBRAC
• Engage with CARICOM Secretariat on the issue of taxation, tax havens and related issues at 2016 SUBRAC
• Political issues/themes – yes; but technical knowledge is also important
• Some technical assistance is available within the sub-region
• Need to do some studies – similar to those done by PSIRU
• Need to develop the skills that will allow affiliates to better engage in discussions and consultations
• Focus on women and young workers to develop their skills and capacity
Actions for 2015/2016• Sub-regional working group on Tax Justice and
related issues (whistle blowing, anti-corruption)– Focus countries– Develop skills and competencies of working group
members• Continue to build awareness• Educate• Establish and build alliances– Other unions and national centres– Civil society partners (especially universities)
Proposed Actions for 2015/2016• Need to have studies on selected countries,
with concrete info• Representation in Funding Democracy
Steering group – initiated by PSI affiliate in Canada
• Special discussion at 2016 SUBRAC• Engage with CARICOM Secretariat on the issue
of taxation, tax havens and related issues at 2016 SUBRAC