Goldman
Sachs'
“Tax Evasion” Hit by Rep. Doggett, Citi's and
Transocean's Offshoring
By
Matthew
R. Lee
SOUTH
BRONX, July 20 -- Goldman Sachs, recently let off the hook by the
Securities and Exchange Commission with a mere $550 million fine,
dropped its tax rate in one recent year from 34% to 1%. On July 20,
Inner City Press asked Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-Tx) what he thought of
Goldman's decline in tax rate, and of the SEC deal.
Rep.
Doggett
replied that this was “outrageous,” that Goldman Sachs' decrease
in tax rate “suggests a company among the most profitable on the
Street is not paying its fair share” and is using “gimmicks.” But
what's going to be done?
Lloyd Doggett on the Hill, Goldman taxes not shown
Inner
City Press
asked the question on a media conference call including Senator Carl
Levin (D-Mich) and several “responsible investors” including Amy
Domini. Ms. Domini recounted how she had to pull funds recently from
Chicago-based Shorebank, and that some of her customers then pulled
funds from her.
Doggett
was asked
about Citigroup, with more than 400 offshore subsidiaries. He said
this should be investigated, as should Transocean, owner of the
leaking Gulf oil platform, which shifted business to the Cayman
Islands and then Switzerland to evade U.S. taxes.
Senator
Levin spoke
out against companies shifting their patents and other intellectual
property offshore to evade taxes. The loopholes should be closed --
but will they? Watch this site.
* * *
Uzbek
Karimov
Closed
Border Due to Capacity, But IMF Denies Impact on
Budget
By
Matthew
Russell
Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
July
1 -- When Uzbekistan's president Islam Karimov closed
his country's border to those fleeing ethnic violence in Kyrgyzstan,
he said it was due to lack of capacity, including financial capacity.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon
called and spoke with Karimov, and
rather than urge the re-opening of the border or the release of
people imprisoned for political reasons, thanked Karimov for
stretching his resources, promising help.
But
when Inner City
Press on July 1 asked International Monetary Fund spokesperson
Caroline Atkinson how the IMF mission to Uzbekistan, there from June
14 to 29, viewed the influx of refugees' impact on the Uzbek budget,
her answer implied that the IMF saw no financial impact whatsoever.
“Questions
should be directed to the UN High Commissioner on Refugees,” she
said, adding that the IMF is “very concerned about the human cost.”
But what about the financial cost? She directed Inner City Press to
materials on the IMF's web site, which incongruously offer fulsome
praise to Karimov' Uzbekistan, with no mention of the border and
refoulement issues. Very concerned? Watch this site.
On Uzbek border, budget impact not seen by IMF
Footnote:
one
way
that Ms. Atkinson was able to dodge the budget question was
by omitted the word. Inner City Press' question, as submitted, was
“In Uzbekistan, the IMF mission there from June 14-29 must have
considered the Karimov government's dealing with Kyrgyzstan: influx
of refugees, closing the border, forcing refugees back. How does the
IMF consider these developments, including as impacts the budget?”
But
Ms. Atkinson
paraphrased it as whether the IMF considered Kyrgyzstan refugees,
“closing borders and so on” -- with no mention of the word
budget. And so it goes.
* * *
Uzbek
Karimov,
UN's
Ban Does Not Raise Border Closure or Maxim Popov, Omitted
from Transcript
By
Matthew
Russell
Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
June
18
-- With tens
of
thousands
of people seeking to flee
attacks in Kyrgyzstan blocked at the Uzbek border, UN Secretary
General Ban Ki-moon spoke on June 16 with Uzbekistan's strongman
Islam Karimov. Ban did not, however, ask Karimov to open the border.
This was confirmed on June 18, when Inner City Press asked Ban
himself if any request had been made to open the border. Ban's two
minute answer included no such request. Video here,
from
Minute
10:14.
Nor
did Ban
raise to Karimov, when he visited Tashkent in April, the plight of
UN-funded AIDS educator Maxim Popov, who was sentenced to seven years
in prison for blasphemy. Inner City Press has twice asked Michel
Sidibe, Executive Director of UNAIDS, about Popov.
On
June 9, Sibide
told Inner City Press that "I personally tried to be sure the
Secretary General during his trip to Uzbekistan was able to raise
this issue" of Popov. Video here,
from
Minute
10:02. Inner City
Press then asked Ban's Spokesperson's Office if Ban had raised it,
without answer.
Inner
City
Press
asked
Ban directly on June 18, saying "the head of UNAIDS said
you were prepared to raise this issue of Maxim Popov, in jail for
seven year." Ban did not answer this part of the question, so
Inner City Press repeated it. Video here,
at
13:06.
Ban
replied,
"United Nations relevant agencies will continue to work to
address that issue." Not only is the logic circular -- UNAIDS
says they prepared Ban to raise the issue, then Ban says "agencies"
will be the ones to raise it -- when at 6 p.m. the
UN put out their transcript of the press encounter, they omitted Inner
City Press' Maxim Popov question, and called the follow up
"inaudible." Compare video
to UN transcript,
below.
UN's Ban and Karimov, border closure and Popov not
shown
Compare video
to UN transcript--
Inner
City
Press:
You
mentioned the people that are waiting to cross the
border out of Kyrgyzstan. When you spoke with President [Islam]
Karimov of Uzbekistan, did you ask him to open the border? Also, when
you were in Uzbekistan, were human rights a part of your conversation
with President Karimov of Uzbekistan?
SG:
When
I
had
a telephone call with President Karimov just two days ago,
I appreciated his willingness to accommodate 80,000 refugees who have
crossed the border. I know that there is a serious difficulty in
accommodating these 80,000 people and also in feeding them, providing
necessary assistance. He told me that their capacity would run out in
three to four days. That is why I have immediately spoken with the
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other
United Nations agencies in mobilizing all humanitarian assistance.
UNHCR has delivered more than 200 tons of immediate, urgent food
assistance. Now it is important that borders are open, but at the
same time, I know I know that there is concerns on countries in the
region of how to manage this border security when addressing all
these tens of thousands of people at one time. I will continue to
discuss this matter. [Special Representative] Mr. Miroslav Jenca is
on the ground in Bishkek talking to all the neighboring countries and
he is closely coordinating with the Special Representatives of the
European Union, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in
Europe, the Collective Security Treaty Organisation and Shanghai
corporation organizations and other individual countries. I
understand that you have been briefed by Mr. Jenca, by the way, at
this afternoon's noon press briefing. So we will closely monitor what
will be the best way to address this humanitarian issue including
this border management.
Inner
City
Press:
[inaudible,
not into microphone]
SG:
Again,
United
Nations
relevant agencies will continue to work to
address that issue.
, 
