Center for Freedom and Prosperity

For Immediate Release
Wednesday, April 3, 2002
202-285-0244
www.freedomandprosperity.org

Task Force Report Promotes Improved
Global Cooperation in Fight against Crime,
Endorses Privacy Protections for Taxpayers

Washington (April 3, 2002) – The Center for Freedom and Prosperity, the nation's leader in the fight for international tax competition, welcomed the release of a report from the Task Force on Information Exchange and Financial Privacy, entitled Report on Financial Privacy, Law Enforcement, and Terrorism. The Task Force, comprised of leaders from the law enforcement, legal, public policy, and tax communities, endorsed the creation of international standards, modeled after the Geneva Convention, to improve cooperation in the global fight against crime and terrorism. Chaired by former U.S. Senator Mack Mattingly and guided by Senior Advisors Edwin Meese, former U.S. Attorney General, and Jack Kemp, former Republican Vice Presidential nominee, the Task Force also called on policy makers to more effectively target money laundering laws.

Andrew F. Quinlan, a member of the Task Force and President of the Center for Freedom and Prosperity, remarked, "With a diverse range of members, the Task Force was able to utilize expertise from several fields to develop proposals that will facilitate information sharing between free and democratic nations." Quinlan explained that, "The proposed Convention gives lawmakers a tool to investigate and prosecute those who violate the commonly shared laws of all civilized nations, yet protects the privacy rights of ordinary people."

The Heritage Foundation's Daniel Mitchell, who also served as a Task Force member, applauded the recommendation to re-orient money laundering laws so they target suspected lawbreakers. According to Mitchell, "If implemented, the Task Force proposals will help law enforcement monitor the activities of terrorists and other criminals." Mitchell also commended the Report for urging an end to regulations that require banks to file millions of reports on the financial transactions of law-abiding citizens. The Heritage Foundation Senior Fellow noted that, "These reports hinder the fight against crime by burying law enforcement under a blizzard of useless paper."

Another Task Force member, Veronique de Rugy of the Cato Institute, stated that she was "very pleased that the Task Force urged the U.S. government to oppose the European Union's 'Savings Tax Directive' and other tax harmonization initiatives." Ms. de Rugy explained that such schemes "undermine international cooperation in the fight against crime since many nations are reluctant to share data when they feel it will be misused for extra-territorial tax enforcement purposes."

Link to Task Force Report below:
http://www.freedomandprosperity.org/task-force-report.pdf

For additional information please visit:
http://www.prosperity-institute.org

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For additional comments:

Andrew Quinlan can be reached at 202-285-0244, quinlan@freedomandprosperity.org
Dan Mitchell can be reached at 202-608-6224, dan.mitchell@heritage.org
Veronique de Rugy can be reached at 202-218-4601, vderugy@cato.org

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