World Bank and aid donors accused of enabling land grabs

 

by Ellie Violet Bramley    Guardian   May 21, 2014

Aid donors and international institutions including the World Bank and World Economic Forum (WEF) have been accused of promoting an environment that fuels land grabs through policies and initiatives that pave the way for large-scale private investment.

In a report published on Tuesday, the NGO ActionAid says public money and policy incentives such as tax breaks and cut-price loans are facilitating land deals that threaten the lives and livelihoods of small-scale farmers in poor countries.

ActionAid warns that the consequences of such deals, which are too often happening behind closed doors and with little or no consultation with local communities, include “forced evictions, human rights violations, lost livelihoods, divided communities … rising food insecurity and, ultimately, increased poverty”.

A spokesman for the World Bank said it was also concerned about the risks of large-scale land deals and stressed that it did not support investments that took advantage of weak institutions in developing countries.

ActionAid’s report says weak governance and regulation of land use and agricultural investments have left millions of smallholder farmers and indigenous people in vulnerable situations “lack[ing] recognition over their land rights, even if they have resided in or used the area for generations”.

ActionAid’s campaign manager, Antoine Bouhey, said a “nexus of different policies” at the global level, which encourage private investment as a route to development, were also to blame.

“Governments are turning to private capital to fill the massive shortfall in public spending but too often this blind rush for investment is leading to land grabs which are leaving communities landless, homeless and hungry. Growth cannot be achieved at the expense of the poorest and most vulnerable,” he said.

House Passed Bill Which Closes the “Offshore Outsourcing” International Corporate Tax Scheme

by Robert Oak 06/02/2010 Economic Populist

In the American Workers, State, and Business Relief Act of 2010, passed by the House last Friday, there are little observed provisions to remove tax incentives to offshore outsource your job.

The bill ties income to the foreign tax credit, so no longer can a corporation claim the tax credits yet park the actual profits money offshore in a low tax country. As one can see if one gets credits yet doesn’t have to actually pay tax on profits accrued when offshore, this encourages the movement of assets, production overseas, including jobs.

In White House Semi-English:

When a U.S. taxpayer has overseas income, taxes paid to the foreign jurisdiction can generally be credited against U.S. tax liabilities. In general, this “foreign tax credit” is available only for taxes paid on income that is taxable in the U.S. The intended result is that U.S. taxpayers with overseas income should pay no more tax on their U.S. taxable income than they would if it was all from U.S. sources. However, current rules and tax planning strategies make it possible to claim foreign tax credits for taxes paid on foreign income that is not subject to current U.S. tax. As a result, companies are able to use such credits to pay less tax on their U.S. taxable income than they would if it was all from U.S. sources – providing them with a competitive advantage over companies that invest in the United States.

In reading the bill, first pass, it does appear the White House proposal is in the bill.

The changes are is TITLE IV—REVENUE OFFSETS, Subtitle A—Foreign Provisions in H.R. 4213. The section starts on page 229 in the bill text link.

Multinational corporations will do everything in their power to strip out these changes and so will the powerful NASSCOM, or Indian offshore outsourcing business group and their U.S. lobbying counterpart, USINPAC.

Expect war from our Benedict Arnold Tech Companies such as IBM, Microsoft and HP. IBM literally has an algorithm to manipulate global tax structures and has been firing every American who isn’t nailed to their desk. HP just announced 9000 more layoffs. Amazing because the bill extended the R&D tax credit, which greatly benefits these same companies.

Meanwhile Chuck Schumer wants to tax foreign call centers. For each call transferred overseas, Schumer wants a 25¢ charge put on the call. What? No more nonsensical useless script reading rambling in your ear wasting your time and creating more frustration via the phone? Say it ain’t so!