02:04
Tieng Anh Vui
Chancellor George Osborne has announced plans to stop multinationals hiding their profits from the taxman in shadowy offshore "shell" companies.
He pledged to set up a UK register of beneficial ownership to make it clear who was gaining from such arrangements.
The chancellor said he hoped other leading industrialised nations would sign up to the idea at the G8 summit.
He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme the register could be made public to increase scrutiny.
"You're going to see concrete achievements today on changing the international rules on taxation, so individuals can't hide their money offshore and companies don't shift their profits away from where the profit is made," Mr Osborne told BBC Breakfast.
G8: What is on the agenda?
Tuesday:
- 07:00: Bilateral meetings
- 08:30: Counter-terrorism
- 10:30: Tax transparency
- 14:30: Closing talks
- 15:30: UK PM press conference
- 15:45: Other leaders' press conferences
All timings BST
The UK last week unveiled last week unveiled a deal with its crown dependencies and overseas territories - including the Channel Islands, Gibraltar and Anguilla - to start sharing more information on which foreign companies bank their profits there.
'Simple declaration'
About a fifth of offshore tax havens - used by multinationals to shelter cash from the tax authorities - are British dependencies.
"Of course Britain's got to put its own house in order," said Mr Osborne, adding that the government would launch a consultation on whether the register should be published or just be available to Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs.
He said the global tax rules should be updated to "make them fit for our century".
"Companies should know owns them. Believe it or not a lot of companies do not know who owns them.
G8 facts
- Informal, exclusive body aimed at tackling global challenges
- Established in 1975 in Rambouillet, France
- Original members: France, Germany, Italy, Japan, UK, US
- Later members: Canada (joined at 1976 summit, San Juan, Puerto Rico), Russia (joined at 1998 summit, Birmingham, UK)
"But we also want to know big international companies... pay their taxes where the profits are generated.
"And finally, we want to make sure that individuals don't use the global financial system to hide their wealth and avoid paying, or evade paying taxes where they should."
He told the Today programme there had been a "step-change" in the way the international community viewed tax avoidance and tax evasion and this would hopefully be brought together in a declaration at the G8 summit in Northern Ireland.
There are many other issues about individual tax evasion, companies shifting their profits, making sure mining and oil industry businesses reveal how much they're paying to individual governments.
"There's a whole range of issues that are going to be brought together in a very simple declaration we hope that will be agreed later today. This is a real step change in the seriousness with which the international community takes these issues."
Prime Minister David Cameron has committed to making "fighting the scourge of tax evasion and aggressive tax avoidance a priority". The UK has said it also wants to ensure anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing measures are effective, and help poorer countries collect tax revenues.
Tax, trade and transparency - dubbed "The Three Ts" - were placed at the top of the agenda by the UK for its presidency of the G8, which includes the UK, US, Germany, France, Italy, Russia, Canada and Japan.
Đăng ký: Tieng Anh Vui
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