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Center for Freedom and Prosperity
For Immediate Release
Wednesday, December 27, 2006
202-285-0244
www.freedomandprosperity.org
Tax Justice Network's Murphy Refuses to Debate
Dan Mitchell on Tax Competition:
Strange Development Since Murphy Just Boasted That No
One Would Step into the Arena Against Him
(Washington, DC, Tuesday, December 26, 2006) – After bragging that a lawmaker from Jersey would not engage him in a public debate on tax competition issues, Richard Murphy of the
European-based Tax Justice Network was hoisted on his own petard when he refused to debate
Dan Mitchell of the Washington-based Heritage Foundation. Mitchell issued his debate challenge after being
made aware that Murphy was trying to garner media attention by complaining that a lawmaker from Jersey was ducking a public discussion (see his comments below under
Background).
Murphy's cowardice is unfortunate since a debate with Mitchell would have been very informative. Murphy's group, the Tax Justice Network, is a leading advocate for
the anti-tax competition schemes of the EU, OECD and UN. Mitchell, by contrast, is a co-founder of CF&P and a fellow at the prestigious Heritage Foundation, and he is one of the globe's foremost scholars and
commentators on the benefits of tax competition, fiscal sovereignty, and financial privacy.
Andrew Quinlan of the
Center for Freedom and Prosperity commented: "Mr. Murphy should not feel too ashamed. Officials from the OECD and European Commission also have refused to debate representatives from the Center for Freedom and Prosperity. At some point, though, it would be nice to have a public event where both sides present their views and contest the validity of each other's assertions."
Daniel Mitchell, Senior Fellow at the Heritage Foundation, remarked: "I am disappointed that Richard is afraid of a debate. Indeed, I was hoping we would have several debates so that policy makers and citizens in places like London, Brussels, and Paris would be exposed to both sides of the debate. I am particularly disappointed that he is hiding behind the excuse that public policy organizations in the United States are allowed to protect the privacy of their donors. If he really thinks this is an important issue, he should make that accusation in a public forum. His assertion is merely an excuse, however, since he has in the past participated in public events with other organizations without first demanding personal information about the donors to those groups."
Veronique de Rugy of the American Enterprise Institute noted: "Murphy's fig-leaf excuse is laughable. He is carrying water for non-transparent international bureaucracies that have combined budgets of several billion dollars, and he is defending the narrow interests of high-tax governments with combined budgets of several trillion dollars. Yet he is afraid to debate someone from the Center for Freedom and Prosperity, an organization with an annual budget of about $200,000. Shame."
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 202-862-7165, VdeRugy@aei.org
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Background
December 14, 2006, From Tax Research UK: Richard Murphy on tax and corporate accountability
http://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2006/12/14/running-scared/
Text:
Running scared 14-Dec-06
The following letter appeared in the Jersey Evening Post yesterday. Both were in response to a feature which only gave Senator Walker's view on this issue, even
though the JEP are well aware of how to contact the Tax Justice Network.
Running scared
From John Christensen, director, Tax Justice Network.
13/12/06
IN the past six months the work of the Tax Justice Network has been cited
and profiled in international media including the Financial Times, the Wall Street Journal, the International Herald Tribune, Sudendeutsche Zeitung,
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the BBC World Service, BBC Radio 4, BBC Panorama, Het Financieele Dagblad, Africa Report, Public Agenda and more.
Our research was cited on the first page of the recent report on tax havens - 'The Enablers, The Tools, The Secrecy' - published by the US Senate
Permanent Sub-Committee on Investigations, which strangely you failed to report on in the JEP despite its obvious relevance to the Island.
My press adviser tells me that our research has been cited in the press of more than 50 countries during the past 12 months. Over the same period
TJN teams have met senior officials of the European Commission, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the United Nations Economic and Social Council, the OECD and the South Centre. We have
met treasury officials from many major countries including the USA, France, Germany, Norway and the UK.
So who does Senator Walker think he's kidding when he says that a debate
between him and Richard Murphy would give TJN 'credibility they neither deserve nor justify'? (JEP, 8 December). Hasn't he let local politics go just a little to his head?
Richard Murphy is internationally renowned for his research and advocacy on tax and related financial issues.
I would not pretend that this would have been a debate between equals, but
having agreed to a discussion with Richard, the excuse given for not proceeding was feeble in the extreme.
The truth, as everyone knows, is that Senator Walker, to use a Margaret
Thatcher term, was 'frit'. And so he should be. By supporting the tax avoidance industry in the way that he and his colleagues have for many decades, he has contributed to the enrichment of a few and the
impoverishment of millions. Tax havens are an international disgrace, and the use of Jersey for this has been shameful and despicable.
3 Jonathan Street, London.
And so did this:
Victory for waffle, defeat for facts
From Pat Lucas, president, Attac and Tax Justice.
13/12/06
Congratulations to Senator Walker for avoiding a head-to-head with
Richard Murphy.
I would have done exactly the same if I relied on spin and waffle and was not able to browbeat my opponent by using my office as Chief Minister.
Senator Walker has superb judgement in body swerving superior beings, especially when this particular being has superior connections within the UK and Europe and facts as opposed to fiction would be revealed.
Filed in Jersey, Tax Justice Network | Permalink | Comments (1)
December 14, 2006, The Jersey Evening Post, By Harry McRandle, 'Bullying' complaint against Chief Minister
http://www.thisisjersey.com/code/showarchive.pl?ArticleID=2514December2006&year=
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