Former European Council President Herman Van Rompuy sits with British Prime Minister David Cameron at 10 Downing Street in 2013, the same year Cameron intervened in the crackdown. (Photo: Number 10/flickr/cc)
Apr 07, 2016
British Prime Minister David Cameron in 2013 personally intervened to prevent the UK from being pulled into an EU-wide crackdown on offshore tax havens, according to new reporting.
Cameron--who finally admitted Thursday that he had profited from his late father's offshore trust, which was set up through the firm at the center of the massive Panama Papers leak--in 2013 sent a letter to the then-president of the European Council urging him to treat trusts differently from companies in anti-laundering rules. The Panama Papers revealed that Ian Cameron's trust, Blaimore Holdings, had avoided paying UK taxes for more than 30 years.
The EU had planned to publish a central register of the owners of offshore accounts in an effort to curb tax avoidance when Cameron sent the letter.
"It is clearly important we recognize the important differences between companies and trusts," Cameron wrote to Herman van Rompuy. "This means that the solution for addressing the potential misuse of companies--such as central public registries--may well not be appropriate generally."
Instead, he argued, the EU should allow trust owners to keep their identities secret from the public and reveal them only to global tax authorities in exchange for information.
Cameron's intervention in the crackdown was revealed as he continues to come under scrutiny for his personal stake in the trust, which he sold just before taking office in 2010. In what the Guardian noted was a "specially arranged interview," Cameron on Thursday said he did not know whether the PS300,000 he had inherited from his father before his death had benefited from tax haven status.
Asked earlier this week if his family still had a stake in the account, a Downing Street spokesperson responded, "This is a private matter." Cameron's office then released several statements insisting that neither the prime minister nor his family would benefit from offshore accounts in the future.
Those promises rang hollow to the Labour party, which said Thursday that Cameron "completely undermined" his administration's claim to be tough on tax evaders.
"Another day and another story emerges which exposes what the Conservative party really thinks in its heart of hearts about tackling tax avoidance," said Labour's shadow Treasury minister Richard Burgon. "The prime minister can't raise a finger to save our steel industry but at the drop of a hat he can personally intervene to undermine EU efforts to clamp down on tax avoidance."
"When things like this come out from the very top of the Conservative party, it completely undermines anything they have said previously on this major issue," Burgon said.
Join Us: News for people demanding a better world
Common Dreams is powered by optimists who believe in the power of informed and engaged citizens to ignite and enact change to make the world a better place. We're hundreds of thousands strong, but every single supporter makes the difference. Your contribution supports this bold media model—free, independent, and dedicated to reporting the facts every day. Stand with us in the fight for economic equality, social justice, human rights, and a more sustainable future. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover the issues the corporate media never will. Join with us today! |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Nadia Prupis
Nadia Prupis is a former Common Dreams staff writer. She wrote on media policy for Truthout.org and has been published in New America Media and AlterNet. She graduated from UC Santa Barbara with a BA in English in 2008.
British Prime Minister David Cameron in 2013 personally intervened to prevent the UK from being pulled into an EU-wide crackdown on offshore tax havens, according to new reporting.
Cameron--who finally admitted Thursday that he had profited from his late father's offshore trust, which was set up through the firm at the center of the massive Panama Papers leak--in 2013 sent a letter to the then-president of the European Council urging him to treat trusts differently from companies in anti-laundering rules. The Panama Papers revealed that Ian Cameron's trust, Blaimore Holdings, had avoided paying UK taxes for more than 30 years.
The EU had planned to publish a central register of the owners of offshore accounts in an effort to curb tax avoidance when Cameron sent the letter.
"It is clearly important we recognize the important differences between companies and trusts," Cameron wrote to Herman van Rompuy. "This means that the solution for addressing the potential misuse of companies--such as central public registries--may well not be appropriate generally."
Instead, he argued, the EU should allow trust owners to keep their identities secret from the public and reveal them only to global tax authorities in exchange for information.
Cameron's intervention in the crackdown was revealed as he continues to come under scrutiny for his personal stake in the trust, which he sold just before taking office in 2010. In what the Guardian noted was a "specially arranged interview," Cameron on Thursday said he did not know whether the PS300,000 he had inherited from his father before his death had benefited from tax haven status.
Asked earlier this week if his family still had a stake in the account, a Downing Street spokesperson responded, "This is a private matter." Cameron's office then released several statements insisting that neither the prime minister nor his family would benefit from offshore accounts in the future.
Those promises rang hollow to the Labour party, which said Thursday that Cameron "completely undermined" his administration's claim to be tough on tax evaders.
"Another day and another story emerges which exposes what the Conservative party really thinks in its heart of hearts about tackling tax avoidance," said Labour's shadow Treasury minister Richard Burgon. "The prime minister can't raise a finger to save our steel industry but at the drop of a hat he can personally intervene to undermine EU efforts to clamp down on tax avoidance."
"When things like this come out from the very top of the Conservative party, it completely undermines anything they have said previously on this major issue," Burgon said.
Nadia Prupis
Nadia Prupis is a former Common Dreams staff writer. She wrote on media policy for Truthout.org and has been published in New America Media and AlterNet. She graduated from UC Santa Barbara with a BA in English in 2008.
British Prime Minister David Cameron in 2013 personally intervened to prevent the UK from being pulled into an EU-wide crackdown on offshore tax havens, according to new reporting.
Cameron--who finally admitted Thursday that he had profited from his late father's offshore trust, which was set up through the firm at the center of the massive Panama Papers leak--in 2013 sent a letter to the then-president of the European Council urging him to treat trusts differently from companies in anti-laundering rules. The Panama Papers revealed that Ian Cameron's trust, Blaimore Holdings, had avoided paying UK taxes for more than 30 years.
The EU had planned to publish a central register of the owners of offshore accounts in an effort to curb tax avoidance when Cameron sent the letter.
"It is clearly important we recognize the important differences between companies and trusts," Cameron wrote to Herman van Rompuy. "This means that the solution for addressing the potential misuse of companies--such as central public registries--may well not be appropriate generally."
Instead, he argued, the EU should allow trust owners to keep their identities secret from the public and reveal them only to global tax authorities in exchange for information.
Cameron's intervention in the crackdown was revealed as he continues to come under scrutiny for his personal stake in the trust, which he sold just before taking office in 2010. In what the Guardian noted was a "specially arranged interview," Cameron on Thursday said he did not know whether the PS300,000 he had inherited from his father before his death had benefited from tax haven status.
Asked earlier this week if his family still had a stake in the account, a Downing Street spokesperson responded, "This is a private matter." Cameron's office then released several statements insisting that neither the prime minister nor his family would benefit from offshore accounts in the future.
Those promises rang hollow to the Labour party, which said Thursday that Cameron "completely undermined" his administration's claim to be tough on tax evaders.
"Another day and another story emerges which exposes what the Conservative party really thinks in its heart of hearts about tackling tax avoidance," said Labour's shadow Treasury minister Richard Burgon. "The prime minister can't raise a finger to save our steel industry but at the drop of a hat he can personally intervene to undermine EU efforts to clamp down on tax avoidance."
"When things like this come out from the very top of the Conservative party, it completely undermines anything they have said previously on this major issue," Burgon said.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.