Panama Papers: Stiglitz and Pieth issue their own report

Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz and Swiss anti-corruption expert Mark Pieth, who last August quit the Panamanian government committee investigating the Panama Papers, have issued their own report, 

The 25-page report, “Overcoming the Shadow Economy,” argues that, as “economic leaders,” the U.S. and the European Union “have an obligation to force financial centers to comply with global transparency standards.”

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Stiglitz and Pieth resigned from the Panamanian government committee in August, saying that government officials had refused to assure the panel it had full independence to investigate and make its findings public. The government blamed their resignations over “internal differences” on the committee.

They recommend,

• Every country should establish a searchable public registry that identifies the directors and actual owners of all companies, trusts and foundations incorporated within its borders.
• Governments should hand out stiff punishments to lawyers and other middlemen who knowingly register a corporation or trust “whose primary purpose is to evade or avoid taxes or to engage in money laundering.”
• Governments should discourage money laundering through real estate by requiring the disclosure of the real owners for all large real estate cash transactions.

You can read their full report here.