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John Key, PM avoided exposure to Guyon Espiner on this morning’s Morning Report
NZ a 'footnote' in Panama Papers - Key
New
Zealand is not a tax haven and the country is barely a footnote in
the Panama Papers, Prime Minister John Key says.
RNZ,
9
May, 2016
The Panama
Papers are
an unprecedented leak of 11.5 million files from the database of the
world's fourth biggest offshore law firm, Mossack Fonseca.
The
documents show how the world's rich exploited secretive offshore tax
regimes, including
New Zealand's.
A
joint report released today by RNZ News, TVNZ and investigative
journalist Nicky Hager about the leaked papers has shown how New
Zealand is involved in a web of companies and trusts used to protect
their assets in a tax free structure.
John
Key says New Zealand is not a tax haven Photo: RNZ
Mr
Key would not come on to Morning Report this
morning, but he said in an interview on TVNZ there were 215,000 tax
entities disclosed in the Panama Papers, and only 350 of them were in
New Zealand.
More Panama Papers coverage
However,
the joint investigation showed New Zealand was referenced more than
61,000 times in the papers, and showed Mossack Fonseca actively
promoted New Zealand to its clients, particularly those from Latin
America, as a place to park their money.
And
Labour Party leader Andrew Little has called on the government to act
to preserve New Zealand's reputation.
Mr
Key said New Zealand is not a tax haven, and the government was ready
to take steps to preserve the country's reputation.
"We
are quite willing to change the law when it comes to disclosure, when
it potentially comes to tax, when it comes to any issue in this
area," he told TVNZ's Breakfast.
The
OECD has given New Zealand tax regulations its highest ratings, he
said, and an inquiry by tax expert John Shewan would cover many of
the issues raised by the papers.
"We
want to preserve New Zealand's reputation," he said.
Mr
Key said the government did not want to make changes in isolation and
the way to tackle the issues was with other countries through the
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, which
coordinates international action on tax.
Mr
Little said there was "little upside" in many secret
trusts, and New Zealand relied on its excellent global reputation.
"We
cannot afford to be seen as a tax haven, mentioned in the same breath
as the likes of Belize."
He
said Mr Key had sided with the greedy and mega-rich and had made it
easier to hide money in New Zealand.
He
had also shut down an inquiry into foreign trusts that officials
wanted, Mr Little said.
"Now
is the time to act in the interests of working people here and in
other countries to make sure everyone pays their fair share."
A
former senior Inland Revenue official said the revelations were not
surprising, but there are weaknesses in the foreign trust regime.
Robin
Oliver said information on who owns a trust, what assets were in it
and who the beneficiaries were needed to be kept in a central
registry.
Play
Mr
Oliver, who has acted as an advisor for the foreign trust industry,
also said licensing should be introduced.
The
records were obtained from an anonymous source by the German
newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung, which shared them with
the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ).
The
investigation into New Zealand links in the Panama Papers is a
journalistic collaboration by reporters from RNZ News, One News and
investigative journalist Nicky Hager, and with the assistance of the
International Consortium of Investigative Journalists and the German
newspaper Suddeutsche Zeitung.
John
Key chickens out of #panamapapers interview
26
November, 2014
The Radio
New Zealand TV One Nicky Hager release of analysis of
the Panama Papers is underway and the media response is fascinating.
First
up John Key pulled out of his regular Radio New Zealand interview
after learning what he was to be questioned about. He attended all
other media invitations. One wonders why. Perhaps National needs the
PR advice to try and work out how to respond.
On
twitter some of the usual suspects including some reporters who
should know better are trying to claim there is nothing to see
because Key has not been shown to own shares in a Prague
owned illicit Uranium producing company based in Nigeria. Of
course they are ignoring the widespread concerns expressed by many
that New Zealand’s tax system should be used to essentially launder
money. But some have tried to say there is nothing to see even
though the information dump is not due until tomorrow.
Some
of the responses have been brutal.
Duncan Garner
Panama Papers; 'It's certainly not a punch, nothing landed by Nicky Hager, at all' says @patrickgowernz
John Palethorpe
Dovil
David Farrar 
Julie Anne Genter
#fairfuturenz
Matthew Hooton
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