Austria has joined its EU partners in calling for a crackdown on tax evasion, despite the country’s banking secrecy.

Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann said Europe must do more than exchange information about bank accounts.

European leaders are discussing how to prevent tax evasion by multinational companies and rich executives.

As they arrived for the talks in Brussels several leaders stressed the need for tax fairness, saying big earners must not get off lightly.

Some multinationals have taken advantage of a favourable tax regime in the Netherlands, and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said tax changes must be tackled at a global level. He said he would veto any proposals that were not in his country’s interests.

The need for global co-ordination was also underlined by UK Prime Minister David Cameron, who has made tax evasion a key issue to tackle at a G8 summit of industrialised nations next month in Northern Ireland.

After sharp divisions over the EU budget there may be more consensus on these issues, seen as vital in restoring Europe’s competitiveness.

Tax evasion costs EU states 1tn euros ($1.3tn; £0.85tn) a year – more than was spent on healthcare in 2008.

A European Parliament resolution on Tuesday called on the EU to halve that figure by 2020, by curbing tax loopholes and havens.

The MEPs called for a joint EU blacklist of tax havens. Mr Cameron has urged low-tax British overseas territories to sign up to international tax treaties.

The European Commission is pressing for automatic exchanges of people’s earnings data between tax authorities.

Energy co-operation

The other main theme at the Brussels talks is energy policy – especially the need to improve Europe’s energy infrastructure, develop renewables such as solar and wind power and remove barriers to competition. Much of Eastern Europe relies on Russia for gas – and in the past pricing disputes have led to supply shortages in mid-winter.

The Commission is urging EU governments to enact energy legislation that was agreed in 2011, warning that on current trends imports of gas will rise to 80% of the gas consumed in the EU by 2035.

Cash-strapped EU governments are pushing for more tax transparency

The EU already imports 406bn euros’ worth of oil, gas and coal annually – 3.2% of total EU economic output (GDP).

The fragmentation of Europe’s energy market makes it difficult to woo long-term investors willing to commit to multi-billion-euro infrastructure projects. The energy mix varies greatly across Europe, from nuclear-dominated France to coal-dependent Poland.

But a key goal is to connect Europe’s isolated “energy islands” – former Soviet bloc countries like Estonia and Bulgaria – to European grids and storage facilities.

The distortions in Europe’s energy market mean that Bulgarians – the EU’s poorest citizens – pay more for their electricity than consumers in the UK or Germany.

In the global economy the energy blockages threaten to put Europe at a serious disadvantage. The gas price index for EU households rose by 45% in 2005-12, compared with 3% in the US, while the figures for electricity were 22% and 8% respectively, the Commission says.

Transparency push

In his summit invitation letter, European Council President Herman Van Rompuy said progress on tax collection and affordable energy was essential to make budget austerity more acceptable to voters.

The EU has already agreed to strengthen savings tax agreements with European countries widely regarded as tax havens – Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Andorra and San Marino.

There has been widespread anger from ordinary taxpayers over the sophisticated tax avoidance practised by some big corporations in Europe.

Google, Starbucks and Amazon are among the companies that have faced tough questioning over their tax affairs recently.

And this week Apple came under fire in the US Congress over its low tax payments.

The surprise discovery may point to a new way of tackling this increasingly hard-to-treat infection, the US study authors from Yeshiva University say in Nature Communications.

An estimated 650,000 people worldwide have multidrug-resistant TB.

Studies are now needed to see if a treatment that works using the same action as vitamin C would be useful as a TB drug in humans.

Early work

In the laboratory studies, vitamin C appeared to be acting as a “reducing agent” – something that triggers the production of of reactive oxygen species called free radicals. These free radicals killed off the TB, even drug resistant forms that are untreatable with conventional antibiotics such as isoniazid.

Lead investigator Dr William Jacobs, professor of microbiology and immunology at Albert Einstein College of Medicine at Yeshiva University, said: “We have only been able to demonstrate this in a test tube, and we don’t know if it will work in humans and in animals.

“This would be a great study to consider because we have strains of tuberculosis that we don’t have drugs for, and I know that in the laboratory we can kill those strains with vitamin C.

“It also helps that we know vitamin C is inexpensive, widely available and very safe to use. At the very least, this work shows us a new mechanism that we can exploit to attack TB.”

Potential treatment

It might be that vitamin C could be used alongside TB drugs. Alternatively, scientists could create new TB drugs that work by generating a big burst of free radicals.

Vitamin C, or ascorbic acid, has many important functions in the body, including protecting cells and keeping them healthy.

Good natural sources of the vitamin include oranges, blackcurrants and broccoli and most people get all they need from their diet.

Dr Ibrahim Abubakar, head of TB at Public Health England, said: “We welcome any new research which will widen our understanding of how to treat TB. While the findings of this study appear promising, further research to confirm the observations would be essential before Vitamin C can be used to supplement TB treatment.”

Officials say the search for survivors is nearly over as efforts turn towards recovery.

Gary Bird, fire chief of the badly hit Moore suburb, said he was “98% sure” there were no more survivors or bodies to recover from the rubble.

The storm has meanwhile been upgraded to the most powerful level of twister.

Packing winds of at least 200mph (320km/h), the tornado razed a swathe of Moore, a suburb of Oklahoma City.

Continue reading the main story

“Start Quote

It only takes a minute to drive by the place where it looks as if malevolent giant fingers have torn a muddy path through a green land”

End Quote

Mark Mardell North America editor

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• Read more from Mark

Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin said the death toll may rise above 24 as some bodies could have been taken directly to funeral homes.

The body count was revised down from 51 after the state medical examiner said some victims may have been counted twice in the confusion.

According to Mr Bird, no survivors or bodies have been found since Monday night.

He said the goal was to conduct three searches of each location just to be sure.

Emergency crews have had trouble navigating the devastated neighbourhoods because there were no street signs remaining. Some used mobile phones and GPS to navigate.

 

 

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Jacob Lyles recorded his rescue of two children from the rubble of Plaza Towers Elementary school in Moore

 

The National Weather Service (NWS) has upgraded the tornado to EF-5, the most powerful type on the Fujita scale. It uses the word “incredible” to describe the force of such a storm.

The NWS said the twister’s path was 17 miles long and 1.3 miles wide.

For about 45 minutes on Monday afternoon, the storm battered the suburb of about 55,000 people.

Emergency workers pulled more than 100 survivors from the rubble of homes, schools and a hospital, while 237 people were known to have been injured

Minister of Agriculture Hilson Baptiste told delegates at a UNESCO sub-regional conference on Environmental policy formulation and planning for the Caribbean region that he is tired of excessive talk and is ready for action.

The minister expressed frustration with perennial analysis, saying there are reports to consider previous reports and consultants engaged to look at the feasibility of the latest documents.

Minister Baptiste said while the officials consider and reconsider, climate change and other factors are wreaking havoc on islands like Antigua and Barbuda and talk alone could not solve the issues.

The May 15 to 16 conference was organised by UNESCO in collaboration with the St. Kitts and Nevis National Commission and the Nevis Island Administration.

The meeting aimed to support national adaptation policies to climate change in the Small Island Developing States of the Caribbean.

The Cabinet of Antigua and Barbuda,  recently  received preliminary recommendations for strengthening policy coordination, inter-ministry collaboration and monitoring and evaluating policy implementation. This forms part of the preparatory activities of the imminent Public and Social Sector Transformation project

A consultant, Simon James, spent two and-half weeks on the ground soliciting information and perspectives from a core focus group that included Cabinet ministers, the Cabinet Secretary, Parliamentary Secretary in Ministry of Finance, the Economy and Public Administration, permanent secretaries and other senior government officials.

The primary objective of the consultancy is to enhance government’s capacity to improve the quality of decision-making through coordinated planning that help to better align the allocation of resources with government policy priorities.

Mr. James examined the submissions to Cabinet, the Cabinet minutes, the Cabinet agenda, the degree of inter ministry collaboration, the capacity in the Cabinet Secretariat, and the mechanisms for communicating the work of the government to the public.

The consultant will return in mid-June to continue information-gathering with nongovernmental organisations, civil society organisations, and the private sector. He will also present a draft report to the Cabinet. Implementation of the accepted recommendations will begin in July 2013.

Mr. James worked in the UK Cabinet Secretariat under Prime Minister Tony Blair and now specialises in reforming centres of government or the cabinet system. He has done similar work in 19 countries in Europe and the Middle East.

An act of desperation.

That was how Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar yesterday described the chain of e-mails presented to Parliament by Opposition Leader Dr Keith Rowley on Monday which allege a Section 34 conspiracy and a plan to silence a reporter.

Persad-Bissessar said she remained unfazed by the allegations contained in the e-mails and she declared that the plan to bring her People’s Partnership Government into disrepute had backfired.

Persad-Bissessar was speaking to the media following the Land Settlement Agency’s (LSA) first draw of Land for the Landless at the Southern Academy for the Performing Arts in San Fernando. 

The LSA is part of the Ministry of Housing.

“It is a total fabrication and I think all that was missing was a hard hat and a gloves because it was fabrication of the highest order. It is clearly designed to bring the Government into disrepute. I think this thing has backfired completely. Any right-thinking person watching those e-mails will know right away it is a cut-and-paste job that was done. It brings the Opposition into disrepute. The extent they would go seems to be the acts of desperation on the part of the Opposition,” she said.

Rowley read a series of e-mails which, he said, implicated the Prime Minister, Attorney General and Local Government Minister in the Section 34 fiasco.

“None of those e-mails were sent by me. I was advised by the Attorney General that none of those e-mails were sent by him. We are the two senders. I am also advised by Captain Gary Griffith that none of those e-mails were sent by him,” she said.

Persad-Bissessar said numerous discrepancies and inconsistencies were contained in the e-mails. She said she was concerned that the Leader of the Opposition, an experienced Parliamentarian, would hold on to information with such serious allegations of criminal intent without handing it over to the relevant authority.

“Obviously he didn’t believe it himself. If he did that was a serious matter (and) should be taken up right away to give to the police for investigations. He alleges that he had passed it to the President. But that was never raised with me by former president or present President,” he said.

Persad-Bissessar said within hours of receiving the information on Monday, she wrote to acting Commissioner of Police Stephen Williams calling for an immediate investigation.

She said the e-mails were alleged to have been sent when the Section 34 issue was being repealed in Parliament.

“I said at the start (Section 34) should never have happened. That is why I moved swiftly to have it repealed…But that matter is sub judice and I would not want to comment further. It is before the Court of Appeal,” she said. 

A total of five members of Parliament have called for an investigation in the controversial Section 34 e-mail revelations which were presented by Opposition Leader Dr Keith Rowley on Monday.

As he piloted a no-confidence motion in the Government, Rowley presented e-mails he said pointed to a conspiracy by key office-holders of unprecedented magnitude in this country,

Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, Attorney General Anand Ramlogan, leader of the Congress of the People (COP) Prakash Ramadhar, Rowley himself, and St Joseph MP Herbert Volney have all agreed that the House of Representatives is not the forum for the investigation of the accuracy or inaccuracy of the documents. 

(Outside of the House of Representatives the Movement for Social Justice (MSJ) is calling for a probe).

But there is some divergence of views over who should conduct this probe. The Prime Minister referred the matter to the Commissioner of Police within three hours of receiving the documents while Rowley called for the matter to be investigated by the Integrity Commission and the Director of Public Prosecutions. 

Volney stated yesterday the Commissioner of Police, as he can be influenced because he is acting, should not conduct the investigations, which he said should be done by an independent body, which he did not name. He also said the investigation should be “sanitised” by the removal from office of the Attorney General. 

Last night, Volney found support in an unlikely place—PNM’s Alicia Hospedales said she agreed that an independent body must be set up to investigate the matter.

Ramadhar said yesterday the truth must be sought as he supported the call for further investigations into the controversial e-mails revealed by Rowley.

“Whoever is guilty must pay the price,” he stated.

Speaking in the House of Representatives at Tower D, International Waterfront Centre, Port of Spain, Ramadhar, who is Minister of Legal Affairs, said he was not ashamed to say that when he heard Rowley’s contribution, he left the chamber, called his wife and wept.

“I wept not because of any fear other than what happened in this honourable house. If the allegations are true it is of the most heinous and grave nature. If it is not, then that is equally heinous and grave, he said. 

But he also slammed Rowley. “Everyone sat aghast and expected that given the serious nature of the allegation, there would have a serious effort to produce some level of authenticity. We have not seen that and … we are realising the inconsistencies,” he said. 

Ramadhar added: “This is not a case that would pass a preliminary enquiry. No magistrate would send this to trial before a high court. Indeed the very DPP to which we have referred, he would discard this file, he wouldn’t even send it back for further investigation. But I encourage that there be further investigation. Because we need to be clear on this. 

“There should be no lingering doubt, which is the worst sort of thing in politics.” 

Noting that perception is reality in politics, he said the Opposition had created “evil perceptions”. 

He said while the Congress of the People wanted to know what the truth was and the party was making no pronouncement, he was “deeply encouraged” by the Prime Minister’s statements that all the allegations were a total fabrication.

Ramadhar also chastised Rowley for “sitting” on the information for six months, saying he  “is guilty of a failure of duty to the people of Trinidad and Tobago”.

 “Had it been that he kept these documents in his back pocket and a murder or some harm did come to some member of our free press, what would he have done then?” he asked. 

He said if Rowley for a moment believed that he got “serious documents, important documents and real documents, then he would have appreciated immediately that those (documents) were obtained in breach of the Interception of Communications Act which the House passed in 2010 which says that if you illegally obtain these documents it carries a penalty of $250,000 and three years imprisonment”.

Ramadhar asked: “Is this the launch of the local government election campaign?” 

He said there were persons hellbent on seating themselves in power before a constitutionally due election. 

“The noises have already started about ‘call election now’. Yuh getting election in 2015. But the perpetual no-confidence motion for those who believe that because they were voted out that they were wronged and that they must come back in at the first opportunity, wait yuh turn, let us do our work, earn yuh right, do not create hysteria in the population,” he said. 

Ramadhar said the e-mail revelations had done damage to the psyche of the country. He said yesterday he was very depressed on Monday and had a restless night, but this morning he saw a new dawn. 

He commended the population for acting responsibly to an irresponsible situation. He said in other countries such revelations would have led to marching and rioting.

‘TIMELY DONATION’: Minister Clement Rohee, Police Commissioner Leroy Brumell and Assistant Commissioner George Vyphuis with the new addition to the fleet of police vehicles (Cullen Bess-Nelson photo)

It included two Canter trucks, two minibuses, three pick-up vans, six cars, six all terrain vehicles (ATV) and one motorcycle, all worth approximately $61M.
The GPF received them at the Tactical Services Unit (TSU) Drill Square, Eve Leary, Georgetown, where Minister of Home Affairs, Mr. Clement Rohee addressed the gathering.
He said it was an important and historic event in which the premier law enforcement agency is the beneficiary.
Rohee noted that the Government has always tried to equip the law enforcement agencies with the relevant mobility to make them effective and recognisable.
He disclosed that the vehicles were procured from the 2012 budgetary allocation passed by the National Assembly and the handing over is a demonstration of Government’s commitment to equip the police with assets for them to do their work.

Minister Rohee as he handed the keys of the vehicles to Acting Commissioner of Police, Leroy Brumell yesterday

Rohee urged the Public Accounts Committee to be vigilant with respect to accountability for the purchase from public funds. 

NECESSARY TOOLS
He pointed out that the GPF must have the necessary tools with which to work, since the demand on it is increasing and the responsibility becoming greater. As such, moves are apace to modernise it and the proposal for the name change is before Parliament.

Minister Clement Rohee accompanied by Acting Commissioner of Police, Leroy Brumell standing by as one of the ranks tested one of the ATVs yesterday at TSU Drill Square, Eve Leary

Rohee observed that the vehicles will be deployed to all divisions and he encouraged the ranks to utilise as well as take care of them.
Also making brief remarks on the occasion, Acting Police Commissioner, Leroy Brumell thanked the Government, through Minister Rohee, for the gift of the vehicles after he received the keys to them.
The Top Cop assured that the vehicles will be used for the purpose intended, mostly to respond to reports and provide service to the community and the nation.
He described the donation as timely and needed.
Assistant Commissioner (Operations) George Vyphuis, who also spoke at the event, said it is with joy that the GPF is on the receiving end and the gift vehicles will strengthen its mobility to serve the community.  ]]> http://nicefmradio.com/featured/more-vehicles-for-guyanas-police-force/feed/ 0 http://nicefmradio.com/featured/guyanas-president-apologizes-to-largest-opposition-party-in-the-country/ http://nicefmradio.com/featured/guyanas-president-apologizes-to-largest-opposition-party-in-the-country/#comments Wed, 22 May 2013 12:30:12 +0000 trevorn http://nicefmradio.com/?p=21119 PRESIDENTIAL Adviser on Governance, Gail Teixeira, yesterday, during an interview with the National Communications Network, said that President Donald Ramotar has issued an apology to Opposition Leader, Mr. David Granger.
This followed the decision by members of the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), walking out of a meeting

convened to discuss the amendments to the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism Bill.

President Donald Ramotar

The Opposition left the meeting after they were instructed not to take part in any further discussions by the APNU leader. This was as a result of a perceived slight by the Opposition over a letter not being shared with them by the President.
Teixeira, reading a part of the President’s correspondence to Mr. Granger, stated that, “I received that correspondence on April 12, 2013, at which time, the Office of the President was pressing for the resumption of budget talks with the parliamentary Opposition and preparing for same. Importantly, I was made aware of the situation surrounding Guyana’s compliance to the CFATF obligations derived from the outcome of the CFATF/ICRG assessments. I was equally aware of the planned intervention in collaboration with local, regional and international stakeholders in organising a workshop on the same matter on Wednesday, April 17.”

Gail Teixeira

The letter further stated that, “It is in that context that the omission took place, during which I may have committed the imagined slight as your May 20, 2013, correspondence intimates.
“I can assure you that no such slight was ever intended as your participation was expected at the workshop where the status of Guyana’s situation was the key agenda item.”
Teixeira said that while she appreciates that, “Mr. Granger may have felt some type of slight, it must be recognised that the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) encouraged the Head of State, and it was the President’s discretion to invite who he wanted to, to a workshop where the issues surrounding the critical piece of legislation and recommendations by the oversight group of the CFATF, would be discussed.”
She noted, “The President, in a generous way, quickly responded to a letter that he received the same day, and tried to reach Mr. Granger, and also submitted a copy of this letter, both electronically and hard copy. We have received no response and further attempts to reach Mr. Granger have been unsuccessful”.
Ultimately, Ms. Teixeira said, the possibility of meeting the internationally stipulated deadline for passing the critical piece of legislation is “very slim”.
Initially tabled on April 22, the Parliamentary Opposition voted, however, to defer the bill after its reading in the National Assembly on May 7 to the Special Select Committee for consideration. That committee was expected to conclude its work by May 22.
The Special Select Committee comprised the government representatives Gail Teixeira, Home Affairs Minister, Clement Rohee, Finance Minister, Dr. Ashni Singh and the AG. On the opposition side, representing the Alliance for Change, is Khemraj Ramjattan, whilst A Partnership for National Unity is represented by Deborah Backer, Joseph Harmon, Basil Williams and Carl Greenidge.
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), a global watchdog against financial crimes, will meet in Nicaragua from May 27-30 and will examine how Guyana and other countries in the Caribbean are meeting international obligations.
If Guyana does not pass the amendments within the given timeframe (May 27), then it shall be placed on a list with other delinquent countries, and would be visited with a regime of sanctions which will include restrictions in the manner that Guyana does business internationally, especially involving wire transfers of funds. Once placed on that list, it takes an average of approximately seven years to come off.

GRACEKENNEDY is among seven applicants to have so far sought authorisation to become electronic retail payment service providers.

The conglomerate, which owns a bank and the largest remittance business in Jamaica, aims to be a first mover with technology, such as mobile money, which is expected to revolutionise the financial sector.

 

BOJ… All entities intending to offer electronic retail payment services are subject to the guidelines and are required to apply to the central bank for authorisation before starting operations

Wehby… we believe there is a huge opportunity for mobile banking

BOJ… All entities intending to offer electronic retail payment services are subject to the guidelines and are required to apply to the central bank for authorisation before starting operations 1/2

“First Global in collaboration with Grace Kennedy has the intention to get into the wallet of mobile money services,” said Don Wehby, GraceKennedy’s group CEO. “What is clear is that a large percentage of our population don’t have bank accounts. We believe there is a huge opportunity for mobile banking.”

It might be that GraceKennedy also wants to get ahead of a field that could take a swipe at its Western Union business.

For instance, in Kenya, money transfer companies virtually disappeared as remittance services migrated to the mobile money system, called M-Pesa.

It is still early days yet.

The Development Bank of Jamaica’s (DBJ’s) non-commercial pilot, which will test loan disbursements over mobile networks could give the Bank of Jamaica (BOJ) the remaining piece of information it needs to provide the complete regulatory framework for mobile money. But that may take a year or two.

Meanwhile, credit unions, remittance companies, commercial banks and one operator outside of the financial sector have applied to the central bank for authorisation, according to BOJ Deputy Governor Livingstone Morrison.

When these companies that want to offer services, which include e-money stored in a device such as a mobile phone and SIM card gets authorisation, a new wave of doing business will be made available to the country’s unbanked

It means that Jamaicans who don’t have bank accounts will soon be able to carry out transactions using a cashless system.

Furthermore, these payment instruments and services will make paying for goods and services easier.

In any case, all the instruments that have been put on the table currently exist, although not yet widely available in Jamaica.

“If it’s easy for people to use, people will do transactions and that will facilitate economic development,” said Morrison.

And should Jamaica Co-Operative Credit Union League’s (JCCUL’s) application be successful, it will pave the way for the Jamaica Credit Union e-Payment Services System for mobile top-up and bill payment.

Its customers will be able to put money in their accounts to allow them to make bill payments with companies that the credit unions will collaborate with, according to Glenworth Francis, the general manager of JCCUL

They will also be able to access cash to top up their mobile phones.

A retail payment service may be a custodian account based payment service or a customer account based payment service.

Issuers that are authorised to operate custodian account based payment services may issue e-money by accepting physical money from customers/merchants’ and may convert e-money into physical money for e-money account holders (cash-outs) on their request, directly through appointed merchants, the BOJ said in it’s payment system consultative document.

A custodian bank will keep the cash to ensure that the company isn’t using consumers’ money.

This means, that the value of what’s on card should always add up to what’s in the custodian account.

“If the entities aren’t banks, they can’t use people’s money,” Morrison stated.

Customer account based are offered by regulated deposit-taking institutions.

But, it doesn’t mean that banks will have an advantage over other institutions.

“Different entities will have different strategies that are aligned to their businesses,” Morrison said.

But it isn’t easy for companies to qualify for authorisation.

“The central bank is facilitating a different arrangement and stands committed to making the system secured,” he said. It has put the framework in place for companies to innovate.

Still, it will stick to key policy objectives. These include safety and efficiency, consumer protection, affordability and availability of the infrastructure to facilitate the instruments.

Under the finalised guidelines, all electronic retail payment service providers are required to maintain sufficient capital to support a minimum net worth of US$100,000 or the equivalent in Jamaican dollars, subject to any changes that the bank shall make from time to time, according to the BOJ.

Additionally, retail payment service providers (who collect monies in exchange for value distributed in an electronic retail payment system) are required to pay US$5,000 ($461,000) authorisation fees for the initial application, and US$4,500 for renewals. Agents (representing one or more issuers of an electronic retail payment instrument) are required to pay US$200 for both initial applications and renewal.

Those companies that have applied will have to go through periods of assessments.

The first stage is a business assessment that involves a review of the business plans, financial strength, managerial and technical expertise and the governance and administrative arrangements that will be employed by the applicant.

Once the Bank is satisfied that the company has a legitimate operation, they will move onto doing on-site evaluation- operational assessment.

This will be administered to determine the adequacy of the business, including information technology infrastructure.

The BOJ is responsible for the regulation and supervision of clearing and settlement systems in Jamaica. All entities intending to offer electronic retail payment services are subject to the guidelines and are required to apply to the central bank for authorisation before starting operations. The Bank began accepting submissions in April.

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