G-20 Sets Sights on Tax Evaders

One of the main topics to emerge during this year's G-20 meeting has been multinational companies' use of highly complex tax minimisation systems. 

The US Senate estimates revenue losses from tax evasion by U.S.-based firms and individuals at around 100 billion dollars a year. In many other countries, the sums run into billions of euros.

China has agreed to join the international effort to combat tax evasion by signing the convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters to share tax records.

Russia's finance minister Anton Siluanov said that leaders of the world's 20 largest economies are indignant over the policies of cross-border giants like Google and Amazon, who "make money in one country" but pay lower taxes elsewhere. He said that G-20 leader have agreed on a plan to take on multinational companies who tuck away their profits in offshore jurisdictions.  The plan includes ways to close loopholes and allow countries to tax profits held in offshore subsidiaries.