VOA标准英语2013--Report: Tax Havens Cost Africa $38 Billion a Year

 

Report: Tax Havens¹ Cost Africa $38 Billion a Year

Melanie Ward² is spokesperson for the 'Enough For Everyone If' campaign.

"I think a lot of people here in the U.K. and around the world are fed up with tax dodging," said Ward. "They are fed up with a system where the rich and powerful play by a different set of rules to everybody else."

Tax havens and low tax jurisdictions³ - like Ireland  - provide a level of secrecy⁴ and enable companies or wealthy individuals to cut their expenses, says Professor Ronen Palan of City University London.

"These countries offer very low taxation⁵, either to corporations or to individuals.  And specifically they target non-residents," said Palan.

The Africa Progress Report, written by a panel of 10 prominent figures including former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, concludes that African countries lose $38 billion a year through tax havens. Professor Palan cites more statistics.

"Africa exported about $1 trillion of capital in the last 30 years whereas inward investment in terms of FDI [Foreign Direct Investment] or aid is about $300 billion.  So Africa is losing capital.  Africa, or sub-Saharan Africa, is actually funding development elsewhere," he said.

The charity ActionAid alleges⁶ that brewing⁷ giant SABMiller uses a complex system of tax havens to siphon profits out of developing countries like Ghana.

SABMiller denies that it exploits tax havens.  It says in 2010 it paid more than $249 million in corporate⁸ taxes in sub-Saharan Africa and India.

ActionAid also alleges that Associated British Foods uses a network of subsidiaries to reduce its tax liabilities in Zambia by millions of dollars.  Associated British Foods says ActionAid's analysis is "incomplete at best and factually wrong in places."

Some argue that tax havens actually facilitate investment in the global economy, says Mark Littlewood, Director General of the Institute for Economic Affairs in London.

"This idea that, sort of, Western companies that are tax efficient are exploiting these places rather than bringing inward investment to them, I think, is a rather neo-imperialist old style way of looking at the world.  We want more of that inward investment.  That creates jobs and creates growth in some of the poorest countries in the world," said Littlewood.

British Prime Minister David Cameron has pledged to put the issue of tax havens on the agenda when he hosts the G8 Summit next month. 

1 havens   

n.港口，安全地方( haven的名词复数 )v.港口，安全地方( haven的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Your twenty havens would back out at the last minute anyhow. 你那二十个避难所到了最后一分钟也要不认帐。 来自辞典例句
• Using offshore havens to avoid taxes and investor protections. 使用海面的港口避免税和投资者保护。 来自互联网

2 ward   

n.守卫，监护，病房，行政区，由监护人或法院保护的人（尤指儿童）；vt.守护，躲开

参考例句：

• The hospital has a medical ward and a surgical ward.这家医院有内科病房和外科病房。
• During the evening picnic,I'll carry a torch to ward off the bugs.傍晚野餐时，我要点根火把，抵挡蚊虫。

3 jurisdictions   

司法权( jurisdiction的名词复数 )； 裁判权； 管辖区域； 管辖范围

参考例句：

• Butler entreated him to remember the act abolishing the heritable jurisdictions. 巴特勒提醒他注意废除世袭审判权的国会法令。
• James I personally adjudicated between the two jurisdictions. 詹姆士一世亲自裁定双方纠纷。

4 secrecy   

n.秘密，保密，隐蔽

参考例句：

• All the researchers on the project are sworn to secrecy.该项目的所有研究人员都按要求起誓保守秘密。
• Complete secrecy surrounded the meeting.会议在绝对机密的环境中进行。

5 taxation   

n.征税，税收，税金

参考例句：

• He made a number of simplifications in the taxation system.他在税制上作了一些简化。
• The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。

6 alleges   

断言，宣称，辩解( allege的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The newspaper article alleges that the mayor is corrupt. 报纸上断言该市长腐败。
• Steven was tardy this morning and alleges that his bus was late. 史提芬今天早上迟到的说词是公车误点了。

7 brewing   

n. 酿造, 一次酿造的量 动词brew的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• It was obvious that a big storm was brewing up. 很显然，一场暴风雨正在酝酿中。
• She set about brewing some herb tea. 她动手泡一些药茶。

8 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。