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In 2001, the United Nations (UN) issued a report attacking tax competition and fiscal sovereignty. In December 2003, the UN reiterated thier findings in their 2001 report. There are four main recommendations in the report - an international tax organization, global taxes, emigrant taxation, and a back-door form of tax harmonization (information exchange). Every one of these initiatives would undermine individual liberty and encourage statist economic policy. Like the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the European Union (EU), both of which are pursuing similar agendas, the UN seeks to prop up inefficient welfare states by making it difficult for taxpayers to escape oppressive tax systems. Leaders of all low-tax nations, particularly the United States, should block the UN's radical scheme.
Headlines Headlines 1) International Criminal Court is threat to US interests and contrary to international legal tradition. Brett Schaefer of the Heritage Foundation writes in National Review Online that the International Criminal Court is seeking to expand its authority in ways completely inconsistent with international precedent. Moreover, the institution lacks any checks and balances to protect against political mischief: One of the most basic principles of international law is that a state cannot be bound by a treaty to which it is not a party. Further, long-standing international legal norms hold
that a state cannot be bound to legal assertions that it has specifically rejected. The ICC, however, directly contravening the norms and precedents of international law, claims jurisdiction to prosecute and
imprison citizens of countries that are not party to the Rome Statute and, more shockingly, over those who have specifically rejected the court's jurisdiction. ...the ridiculous charges under Belgium's
"Universal Competence" law against President George H. W. Bush, Secretary Powell, Vice President Cheney, and General Tommy Franks, among others, for their roles in Operations Desert Storm and Iraqi
Freedom - reinforce America's determination to protect itself from politically motivated criminal allegations. ...Unscrupulous individuals and groups will seek to similarly misuse the ICC for politically
motivated attacks. America is uniquely vulnerable to these kinds of charges... Since the vast majority of the court's discretion lies within the Office of the Prosecutor, the ICC offers little opportunity to
resolve these issues diplomatically and, because of its lack of appropriate checks and balances to prevent it from being misused, represents a dangerous temptation for those with political axes to grind.
Americans need more reliable protection than the goodwill and good judgment of an international legal bureaucrat. ...
2) H.R. 1206: New York Rep. John Sweeney's UN?OECD Fiscal Responsiblity Legislation The Legislation introduced by New York Rep. John Sweeney discourages international organizations from promoting tax harmonization policies that undermine the economic interests of the United States. The legislation targets two organizations, the United Nations and the Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), both of which receive about 25 percent of their budgets from U.S. taxpayers. Link to HR 1206 Section.
June 21, 2004, International Criminal Court is threat to US interests and contrary to international legal tradition. June 18, 2004, UN wants to subject America to International Criminal Court. May 25, 2004, As if the UN's oil-for-food scandal wasn't bad enough. May 18, 2004, Waste and corruption at the World Bank. May 13, 2004, OECD economists call for lower tax rates and labor market deregulation. May 9, 2004, Low-tax jurisdictions must resist OECD bullying. April 29, 2004, UN corruption: pervasive and dangerous. April 29, 2004, The Market Center Blog, UN corruption: pervasive and dangerous. April 29, 2004, The Market Center Blog, World Bank tries to keep Montenegro poor. April 22, 2004, The Market Center Blog, Another international bureaucracy promotes additional government intervention. April 21, 2004, The Market Center Blog, More evidence of UN corruption. April 16, 2004, The Market Center Blog, Think tank blasts UN censorship, argues against bureaucratic control of the Internet. April 5, 2004, The Market Center Blog, Columnist warns against UN plan to seize control of Internet. March 30, 2004, The Market Center Blog, "Never has there been a financial rip-off of the magnitude of the U.N. oil-for-food scandal." March 28, 2004, The Market Center Blog, UN bureaucrats want to control the Internet. March 16, 2004, The UN wants to create a global tax police, but that is not the organization's only nutty idea. February 9, 2004, The OECD and EU get most of the attention, but they are not the only international bureaucracies seeking to hinder tax competition. January 25, 2004, Excerpts from an article on the UN Joining the OECD's and EU's Attack on Tax Competition from the International Tax Review December 23, 2003, LawAndTax-News.com, by Robin Pilgrim, UN To Launch International Tax Organisation October 30 2003, Financial Times, by Mark Turner, UN call to beef up forum on global tax policy February 6, 2002, Freedom Alliance: Issue Brief 2002-03, by Fred Gedrich, United Nations Seeks $70 Billion Handout From U.S. Taxpayers January 18, 2002, Fox News, By Refet Kaplan, Critics Slam Proposed U.N. Tax Authority January 18, 2002, by Oliver North, The global tax man cometh August 6, 2001, Tax-News.com, by Jeremy Hetherington-Gore, United Nations Suggests All Citizens Should Become Slaves
April 7, 2004, National Review, By Claudia Rosett, U.N.Reliable: U.N. investigations focus on process, not substance. April 2, 2004, FrontPageMagazine.com, By Newt Gingrich, How Saddam Bribed the UN March 30, 2004, The Market Center Blog, IMF buffoons continue to reward irresponsible governments. March 29, 2004, The New York Times, By William Safire, Follow-Up to Kofigate March 26, 2004, CNET News.com, By Declan McCullagh, United Nations ponders Net's future March 16, 2004, The Market Center Blog, The UN wants to create a global tax police, but that is not the organization's only nutty idea. December 22, 2003, The Washington Times, By Daniel J. Mitchell, Radical U.N. tax target December 15, 2003, Competitive Enterprise Institute, by Neil Hrab, Should the UN Control the Internet? May 16, 2002, by Richard W. Rahn, The new fascism February 7, 2002, The Washington Times, by Dan Mitchell, U.N. tax police potential August 21, 2001, The Washington Times, A one-world taxing authority?
September 23, 2003, CF&P Press Release, Coalition for Tax Competition Praises Sweeney for Fighting UN and OECD Tax Schemes: Groups say U.S. Taxpayers Should Not Fund
International Bureaucracies that Advocate Global Taxation and Tax Harmonization Policies that Hurt the U.S. ____________________ August 2, 2001, CF&P Foundation Press Release, New UN Tax Agenda is Threat to U.S. Taxpayers
The Legislation introduced by New York Rep. John Sweeney discourages international organizations from promoting tax harmonization policies that undermine the economic interests of the United States. The legislation targets two organizations, the United Nations and the Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), both of which receive about 25 percent of their budgets from U.S. taxpayers. Bill Information: Coalition for Tax Competition Letter to Rep. John Sweeney ~ September 23, 2003: CF&P's Press Release Supporting Rep. Sweeney's Bill HR 1206:
US Senator Praises Tax Competition and Warns of Dangers of United Nations' Tax Harmonization Scheme Idaho Senator Michael Crapo, who serves on the Senate Banking Committee and the Joint Economic Committee, applauds the Bush Administration for its position on international tax competition and urges the White House to "to resist calls to relinquish American sovereignty over our tax policies." The following is an excerpt from Senator Crapo's letter: "A tax cartel is not in America's interests, and I applaud you for resisting Europe's so-called 'harmful tax competition' agenda. Tax harmonization is bad tax policy, but it also is
bad foreign policy. Although the U.S. can benefit from participating in certain international organizations and activities, these must be consistent with our national security interests and reflect the goals of the
American people. Clearly, the creation of an international tax bureaucracy would serve only to create conflict between low-tax and high-tax nations." [Link to full letter below:] ____________________ Senator George Allen urges Bush Administration to protect "American principles of competition and free and open markets" Senator George Allen from Virginia is a member of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee and Senate Foreign Relations Committee. A former governor of Virginia, Senator Allen urges Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill "to reject any tax harmonization plan or any other proposal that contradicts the American principles of competition and free and open markets." He also warns of the UN's planned tax grab, "While tax harmonization is one of the proposals that most concerns me, I am also concerned about the possibility of the creation of an International Tax Organization, the imposition of global taxes, allowing governments to permanently tax emigrants, and the idea of 'information exchange.' The only entities to benefit from these proposals are high-tax, anti-competitive governments." Link to complete letter below: ____________________ House Small Business Committee Chairman Don Manzullo Says the UN's Tax Scheme is "…a Threat to America's Economic Interests." Rep. Manzullo's letter ~ February 20, 2002
August 2001; Prosperitas Vol. I, Issue II; United Nations Seeks Global Tax Authority; by Daniel J. Mitchell of the Heritage Foundation
Summer 2002-03, Policy (The Centre for Independent Studies), David R. Burton, Towards a Global Tax Cartel Link to Study: ____________________ February 26, 2003, Speech before the Cayman Islands Bankers' Association, by Richard W. Rahn, The New World War Against Economic Growth and Civil Society ____________________ May 3, 2002, Congressional Research Service of the Library of Congress, Global Taxation and the United Nations: A Review of Proposals CRS Report Link: ____________________ February 6, 2002, Freedom Alliance: Issue Brief 2002-03, by Fred Gedrich, United Nations Seeks $70 Billion Handout From U.S. Taxpayers ____________________ July 2001, U.N. Report Calls for New Spirituality: The Creation of Two Organizations to Aid International Tax Enforcement, by Bruce Zagaris, partner, Berliner Corcoran & Rowe,
Washington, DC ____________________ Link to UN Report:
The Prosperity Institute's Study July 2001, Prosperity Institute, By David R. Burton, The U.N. High Level Panel on Financing for Development Recommends Making Orwell's Big Brother Real |
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