G8 summit: Tax evasion and free trade measures

Barack Obama, David Cameron and Enda Kenny walk to lunch at the G8 summit. Picture: PA

• G8 leaders agree deal to tackle tax evasion and promote global free trade

• Lough Erne Declaration vows to fight tax evation by preventing companies shifting profits across borders

• Campaigners say document does not go far enough and should include developing nations

G8 leaders attend a plenary session today. Picture: AP

The Lough Erne Declaration - signed by the UK, US, Germany, France, Italy, Canada, Japan and Russia - vows to “fight the scourge of tax evasion” by ensuring automatic exchange of tax information and changing the rules to stop multinational companies shifting profits across borders to avoid paying their fair share.

But the 10-point document, released after two days of talks at Lough Erne, falls short of the demands of anti-poverty campaigners, who want the developing world included in the new arrangements from the start and have called for tax information to be made available to all on public registers.

The declaration says only that developing countries “should have the information and capacity to collect the taxes owed them”, rather than guaranteeing them automatic access to the information.

And it says only that “tax collectors and law enforcers” should have access to information about the ultimate owners of companies, leaving it to individual G8 countries to decide whether to make the information public.

The White House said it would leave the decision to individual US states, while Chancellor George Osborne said the UK was “open” to the idea of public registers and is consulting on the issue.

There was no mention in the declaration of the civil war in Syria, which has dominated discussions at the UK-hosted summit. Agreement to work towards a peace conference in Geneva is expected in the full communique, to be released later.

Mr Cameron made it clear when taking up the year-long rotating presidency of the G8 that he wanted the summit to produce a simple, easy-to-understand summary of positions agreed at the summit.

Condensed onto one side of A4, the Lough Erne document starts with the declaration: “Private enterprise drives growth, reduces poverty and creates jobs and prosperity for people around the world.

“Governments have a special responsibility to make proper rules and promote good governance.

“Fair taxes, increased transparency and open trade are vital drivers of this.”

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