Ecuador Minister Discusses Need for UN Tax Body with Transparency Advocates

Ecuador Foreign Minister Guillame Long will meet with civil society groups on Thursday to discuss tax avoidance, corruption and development. The event comes one day before Ecuador takes over the presidency of the G77 and China group of 134 developing nations at an event in New York. Ecuador plans to emphasize tax issues and financing global development during its presidency.

"Tax avoidance, evasion and corruption are serious problems," noted Eric LeCompte, Executive Director of the religious development coalition Jubilee USA. LeCompte will moderate the January 12 event and serves on United Nations expert working groups that focus on tax and finance. "The developing world is losing vital revenues for building infrastructure and combating poverty."

At the event in Washington, Minister Long is expected to express support for a United Nations body to focus on global tax issues, corruption and transparency.

In February, Ecuador will hold a referendum on whether to bar public servants from holding office if they hide money or assets in tax havens. Developing countries lose more than one trillion dollars each year to "illicit financial flows" or money that leaves a country due to tax evasion or corruption. Recent estimates from the Economic Commission on Latin America and the Caribbean indicate that the region loses 6.7% of its GDP to tax evasion. The region loses an estimated $85 billion annually due to illicit flows compared with $10 billion received yearly in development aid. A quarter of Latin American and Caribbean residents live on less than $4 a day.

The Washington event is organized by Latindadd, Global Alliance for Tax Justice, Center of Concern, Center for Economic and Policy Research, Jubilee USA Network, FACT Coalition, Public Citizen, Financial Transparency Coalition and Red de Justicia Fiscal de América Latina y el Caribe.