Switzerland outlines plan to relax bank secrecy laws
Switzerland has taken a decisive step to resolve its dispute with the US over tax evasion, unveiling plans to relax its once untouchable bank secrecy laws. Since Switzerland’s biggest lender, UBS, admitted in 2009 it had helped thousands of clients avoid paying US taxes, American authorities have been investigating other Swiss banks they believe may have offered similar services, including Julius Baer and Credit Suisse. Switzerland’s move comes as tax avoidance and evasion by individuals and companies has risen on the international policy agenda. Apple’s CEO, Tim Cook, recently defended his company’s use of tax loopholes, and urged the US government to “gut” its tax code, which he said was held together by “band-aid and paperclips”. (Financial Times*; The Guardian)
Environment
BT unveils strategy to tackle customer emissions
UK telecoms group BT has revealed plans to help its customers deliver emission reductions that are three times greater than its own emissions savings. After announcing that it had achieved its goal of reducing carbon emissions by 80% from 1996 levels three years early, the company unveiled a major new strategy to cut environmental impacts across its value chain. By 2020, the company aims to ensure that for every one tonne of carbon it reduces in its own operations, its customers cut three tonnes of carbon emissions. “Using the power of communications, we can benefit our customers, our bottom-line and the communities we operate in,” said BT's chief sustainability officer, Niall Dunne. (BusinessGreen)
Walmart pleads guilty to dumping hazardous waste in California
Walmart, which has endured a year of bad publicity around its US labour relations and working conditions in its overseas supply chain, on Tuesday pleaded guilty to dumping hazardous waste in numerous sites in California. The retail giant will now pay a fine of $81m, bringing to an end a decade-long investigation that began after a health department official in San Diego noticed a Walmart worker pouring bleach down a drain. Officials at Walmart pointed out that the case covered incidents that had happened between 2003 and 2005, and insisted that its entire national system for dealing with hazardous waste has been comprehensively overhauled. (The Guardian)
EU agrees on deal to replenish fish stocks
The European Union has agreed to put an end to decades of over-fishing and rebuild dwindling stocks by 2020, as part of a deal to overhaul the bloc's fisheries policy. Officials said a deal to follow scientific advice more closely and use transparent environmental and social criteria when setting quotas could increase EU fish stocks by up to 15 million tonnes by the end of the decade, and would also massively reduce the number of fish – often dead or dying – that are discarded at sea. Environmental group Greenpeace hailed the deal, saying, “For decades in Europe, fishing has been a story of decline, with severe overexploitation of fish stocks and small-scale fishermen squeezed out of business… For the first time, the EU has recognised the value of low-impact fishermen.” (Reuters; Greenpeace)
Corporate Reputation
Seven charged over “Paypal for criminals”
A federal grand jury in the United States has charged the operators of a digital currency and money transfer business with running a $6bn money-laundering business. The allegations were made against Costa Rica-based Liberty Reserve, its founder, Arthur Budovsky, and six other men connected to the business. Liberty Reserve described itself as being the internet’s “oldest, safest and most popular payment processor… serving millions all around a world”. But prosecutors claim that the business, which was established in 2006 and was shut down last week, was “one of the principal means by cyber-criminals around the world to distribute, store and launder the proceeds of their illegal activity”. (Financial Times*, Independent)
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