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Center for Freedom and Prosperity's Weekly Update 1) Important U.S. Lawmakers Reject OECD Tax Cartel
1) IMPORTANT U.S. LAWMAKERS REJECT OECD TAX CARTEL SENATOR JESSE HELMS – Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Senator Helms' committee authorizes US spending for international organizations like the IMF, the UN and the OECD. Link to Senator Helms' letter. SENATOR JUDD GREGG – Chairman of the Commerce, Justice, State, and the Judiciary Subcommittee of the Senate Appropriations Committee. Senator Gregg's subcommittee controls the purse strings for international organizations like the IMF, the UN and the OECD. Link to Senator Gregg's letter. CONGRESSMAN THOMAS REYNOLDS – Members of the House Rules Committee. All legislation must go through the Rules Committee before it can be voted on by the full House. Mr. Reynolds also is a member of the House's tax writing committee, but is on leave from the Ways and Means Committee until he finishes his tour on the Rules committee. Link to Congressman Reynolds' letter.
2) OECD STUMBLES IN PARIS, LOW-TAX COUNTRIES GO ON OFFENSE CFP just returned from a successful trip to Paris and Brussels. We were able to meet with many of the low-tax counties and share with them our progress on Capitol Hill and the White House. The low-tax countries stood up to the OECD and should be commended. The outstanding leadership of Barbados' Prime Minister Owen Arthur and Antigua's High Commissioner Sir Ronald Sanders must be acknowledged. I can say without exaggeration that these two gentlemen have made a tremendous difference in this debate. Media reports are beginning to highlight the OECD's unfair actions. From the release of the internal "memo" that insulted the Commonwealth Secretariat to the refusal to treat the non-OECD countries with respect, it became quite apparent that the bureaucrats in Paris have not retreated from their imperialistic agenda. Moreover, the proposed plan put forth by the Commonwealth countries has put the OECD on the defensive. Indeed, we think the proposal is far too generous in that it does not make clear that countries should not try to tax income earned outside their borders. Our open forum was very successful and we plan on holding them in every city we visit. Link to a BNA article on the meeting. News Reports on Paris Meeting: OECD accused of tyranny, Caribbean leader alleges double standards at tax havens talks .OECD Tax Competition Meetings Fail To Yield Announcement, Raising Questions Commonwealth Nations Demand Full Participation in OECD Tax Competition Plan 3) COMMONWEALTH CONDEMNS OECD Statement by Commonwealth Secretary-General on Document Related to Tax Talks 4) TWO INSIGHTFUL WSJ-EUROPE OPINION PIECES ON THE INSANITY IN EUROPE February 28, 2001, by James Sproule, International Commentary, Why Are Your Neighbors Paying in Cash? March 6, 2001, International Commentary, Bully Europe
5) FREE CONGRESS FOUNDATION JOINS CFP IN PARIS Brad Jansen of the Washington-based Free Congress Foundation joined the Center's delegation in Paris. Free Congress' press statement.
Marshal Langer's paper has been featured on this email update before. I believe it needs to be repeated since it is one of the most viewed papers on our web site. In fact, besides Dan Mitchell's Heritage Foundation paper on the OECD's misguided tax competition project, Prof. Langer's paper on "Who are the Real Tax Havens?" is mentioned the most on my travels. Link to Prof. Langer's paper.
Finally, let me give you a glimpse at our future plans. For the next few weeks we will be working here in Washington. We have meetings scheduled with key members of Congress and their staff, and we continue to work to influence the Bush Administration. We encourage persecuted nations to defend their interests. Speak to lawmakers on Capitol Hill. Talk to people at the State Department, Treasury Department, and the White House. But seek meetings with political appointees. Many career bureaucrats, particularly at the Treasury Department, favor the OECD agenda and are trying to manipulate their bosses by mis-characterizing this issue as one of tax evasion and money laundering. We need to explain to the political appointees that these are "red herrings," and that the real issue is whether countries should have territorial or worldwide taxation.
Kind regards, Andrew Quinlan
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