(C) Common Dreams This story was originally published by Common Dreams and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Economists across the world unite for tax justice in Honduras [1] [] Date: 2024-07-31 We, economists from around the world, support the government of Honduras’ proposed Tax Justice Law. We view the proposed changes as critical for reducing inequality in Honduras, supporting social and economic development and closing pervasive tax loopholes that undermine tax revenues. Honduras has struggled to raise appropriate revenues from corporate taxation and wealthy individuals, especially following a series of exemptions and loopholes created by successive post-2009 coup governments. These loopholes, coupled with banking secrecy and opaque systems of masking beneficial ownership, placed Honduras on the path to being labelled a tax haven. The total lost to these loopholes and exemptions in the period 2010 to 2023 is more than the entire national public debt in Honduras. According to official statistics, Honduran national public debt stood at $16.6 bn USD at the close of 2023. It is estimated that the value lost to the treasury from tax exemptions and loopholes granted between 2010 and 2023 is $20.1 bn USD. The Tax Justice Law seeks to turn the page on this period. It institutes the progressive principle that those with more should pay more, simplifies the tax system to remove loopholes and increases transparency. The Law proposes to close the loopholes that permitted large-scale corporate tax avoidance, end corporate profit shifting as a method to reduce tax by assessing global, not just national profits, tax corporate and individual income received from abroad, end tax debt write-downs, which served as a disincentive for meeting tax liabilities promptly and in full, end banking secrecy for tax matters, make beneficial owners of corporations liable for taxation, shining a light on opaque corporate structures, and promote the international exchange of information to improve tax justice through ratifying the OECD’s Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters, of which 147 countries currently participate. Taken together, this robust package of reforms is likely to raise revenue for the Honduran state without increasing tax rates or creating new taxes. It also strikes a blow against the global tax haven regime and banking secrecy industry, setting an example to other countries whose tax jurisdictions are currently used to undermine the tax takes of other states through facilitating tax dodging. Such tax transparency will likely aid Honduras’ development with greater funds available for social, economic and environmental goals. As part of the Law, the Honduran government is proposing two new tax regimes aimed at industrial development and foreign investment. Unlike previous tax incentives, these will be time-limited, only for specific taxes and with controls to ensure public benefit, through job creation and development. The global consensus among economists and policy makers holds for an urgent need to deal with tax dodging, tax havens and banking secrecy zones, in addition to further developments. Following the leadership of the African countries Group, all countries of the world are now participating in the Ad Hoc Committee to Draft Terms of Reference for a UN Framework Convention on International Tax Cooperation. The terms of reference, to be completed by August this year, will form the basis for the creation of a globally inclusive tax body aimed at delivering on this crucial agenda. Furthermore, in 2021, more than 130 countries, under the OECD Inclusive Framework, agreed on a series of measures, including a global minimum tax on large corporations at the international level. In addition, in March of this year, the G20 Brazilian Presidency, began discussions to consider, for the first time, greater progressivity in the taxation of the income of the super-rich, including the possibility of establishing a minimum level of taxation on large fortunes. Meanwhile, in Latin America, progressive tax reforms are being promoted within intergovernmental regional integration organisations, where the role of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) will be important. Lastly, the Regional Platform for Tax Cooperation for Latin America and the Caribbean (PTLAC) has also been articulated and seeks to unify the voice of the countries of the region to better represent the interests of its peoples in international processes, and to advance in a coordinated manner in international forums. Honduras’ proposed Tax Justice Law puts these principles into action. We, the undersigned, express our support for the reform package that is set to establish a fairer and more robust system of taxation and incentives that will provide a sounder footing for Honduran development. Such a Law has implications far beyond Honduras’ borders, setting an example of how states can assert sovereignty through taking action against tax injustice individually and collectively. Full list of signatories: José Antonio Ocampo Joseph Stiglitz Jayati Ghosh Jeffrey Sachs Gabriel Zucman James Galbraith Ann Petifor Yanis Varoufakis José Gabriel Palma Dean Baker James K Boyce Patrick Bond Sankar Varma Jason Hickel Adrien Fabre Trevor Evans Fidel Aroche Reyes Andrés Arauz Nuno Barroso Mange Ram Adhana Kathleen McAfee Gustavo Indart Malcolm Sawyer Roos Saalbrink Óscar Ovidio Cabrera Melgar Alex Cobham José Miguel Ahumada Juan Pablo Martínez Ortiz de Taranco Christian Pino Garrido Jerome Roos Pedro Francisco Paez Perez Lorena Valle Cuéllar Alejandro Vanoli Daniel Rojas Ndongo Samba Sylla Monica Bruckmann Juan Pablo Pérez Sáinz Farwa Sial Colin Besaans Richard Kozul-Wright Ricardo Martner Martin Guzman Mary Robertson Carlos Marx Carrasco Vicuña Diego Borja Cornejo Liam Campling James Meadway Cecilia Rikap Isabella Weber Manuel F Montes Fadhel Kaboub Camila de Caso Rodulio Perdomo Juan Arancibia Cordova Jason Rosario Braganza Luis Moreno Nathalie Beghin Efraín A. Díaz Arrivillaga Cristóbal Otero Emmanuel Saez Ignacio Flores Matti Kohonen Mercedes DAlessandro Pedro Rossi José Ricardo Barrientos Quezada Daisy Guadalupe Avila Gloria García-Parra Aaron Schneider Amparo Canales Abdul Muheet Chowdhary Gustavo Irías Magdalena Sepúlveda Carmona Ana Ortega Flores Mirta Kennedy Richard D Wolff John McDonnell César Augusto Sención Villalona José Efraín Deras Mauricio Díaz Burdett René Ramírez Gallegos Jorge Coronado Marroquín Adrián Falco [END] --- [1] Url: https://progressive.international/wire/2024-07-31-economists-across-the-world-unite-for-tax-justice-in-honduras/en Published and (C) by Common Dreams Content appears here under this condition or license: Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND 3.0.. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/commondreams/