Civil society groups at the World Social Forum here launched an international campaign Tuesday to push members of the G20 group of leading economies to end financial secrecy in tax havens. "We want G20 leaders to end the tax haven secrecy that allows companies to hide their profits and avoid paying taxes in developing countries, and agree on measures to promote financial transparency," they said in a statement.
The campaign by organisations such as Oxfam, Christian Aid and the Tax Justice Network Africa calls on "citizens of the whole world to send a message to the G20 and Nicolas Sarkozy in particular, so they can carry this to the November summit." Sarkozy, the French president, is currently chairing of the G20. The groups estimate tax losses in countries of the South at more than 125 billion euros (170 billion US dollars) per year, "more than the total budget for development assistance, while the economic crisis leads to significant budget cuts and millions of children still lack access to education." France has said the fight against tax havens will be a key issue during its G20 presidency.
Tax havens are seen as one of the major failures in financial regulation and supervision behind the financial crisis. The six-day Dakar meeting comes 10 years after the first edition of the Social Forum held in the southern Brazilian city of Porto Alegre. The annual Forum, which brings together leftists opposing globalisation and capitalism, is billed as an alternative to the World Economic Forum held in Davos last week.
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