Image captionGoogle would be among the large firms required to disclose tax information under the rules
Plans to force the largest companies to disclose more about their tax affairs will be unveiled by the European Union on Tuesday.
The rules will affect multinational firms with more than €750m in sales.
They will have to detail how much tax they pay in which EU countries as well as any activities carried out in specific tax havens.
The plans come amid heightened scrutiny of the use of tax havens following the Panama Papers revelations.
Transparency
Lord Hill, the EU's financial services commissioner, said: "This is a carefully thought through but ambitious proposal for more transparency on tax.
"While our proposal on [country-by-country reporting] is not of course focused principally on the response to the Panama Papers, there is an important connection between our continuing work on tax transparency and tax havens that we are building into the proposal."
Country-by-country reporting rules already apply to banks, mining and forestry companies, according to an EU spokesperson.
Under the new proposals, that would be expanded to cover companies accounting for about 90% of corporate revenues in the EU, they added.
The BBC understands that companies will need to disclose information such as total net turnover, profit before tax, income tax due, amount of tax actually paid and accumulated earnings.
The changes come after G20 leaders agreed to follow an OECD action plan to tackle corporate tax minimisation.
Britain's Prime Minister, David Cameron, addresses the Conservative Spring Forum in central London, Britain April 9, 2016.
British Prime Minister David Cameron will say on Monday that new legislation making companies criminally liable if employees aid tax evasion will be introduced this year, as he seeks to repair the damage from a week of questions about his personal finances.
Cameron published tax records on Sunday to try and defuse criticism over his handling of the fallout from the Panama Papers, in which his late father was mentioned for setting up an offshore fund.
After four carefully worded statements in four days, Cameron bowed to pressure and admitted that he had benefited from selling his share in his father's fund in 2010. He recognized on Saturday that he had mishandled the disclosure.
Cameron is leading efforts to persuade British voters to stay in the European Union in a June 23 referendum that the polls suggest will be tight, and the tax row has raised concerns among the "in" camp that their cause may have been damaged.
The prime minister will attempt to regain the upper hand when he appears in the House of Commons later on Monday.
"This government has done more than any other to take action against corruption in all its forms, but we will go further," Cameron will say, according to advance excerpts of his statement circulated by his Downing Street office.
"That is why we will legislate this year to hold companies who fail to stop their employees facilitating tax evasion criminally liable," he will say.
The plan had already been announced by finance minister George Osborne in March 2015, but previously the commitment was to introduce the legislation by 2020, Downing Street said.
The decision to speed up that particular measure is unlikely to satisfy Cameron's many critics in opposition parties and in some campaign groups that say Britain already has the tools it needs to crack down on tax evasion but lacks the will.
The government rejects that, saying it has brought in more than 2 billion pounds ($2.8 billion) from offshore tax evaders since 2010 and has established a registry of company beneficial ownership information due to become public in June this year.
The furor over his own finances has come at a particularly bad time for Cameron, who is due to host a global anti-corruption summit in London on May 12.
He has also been struggling with deep divisions in his Conservative Party over EU membership, and the government has been embarrassed by a senior minister's resignation, a u-turn on welfare cuts and a crisis in the British steel industry it has failed to resolve.
Scotland's economy grew by 0.2% in the last quarter of 2015 but trailed the UK's performance as a whole, according to official figures.
On an annual basis, Scottish Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by 0.9%.
By comparison, UK GDP grew by 0.6% over the final quarter and by 2.1% on an annual basis.
Scotland's services sector grew by 0.3% during the latest period, while the production sector contracted by 0.1%. Construction output expanded by 0.1%.
The previous quarter's estimate was revised down by Scotland's chief statistician from +0.1% to -0.1%, ending a sequence of 11 straight quarters of growth north of the border.
Meanwhile, the growth rate for the first quarter of last year was revised up - from 0.6% to 0.7%.
Scotland's services sector - which accounted for three-quarters of the Scottish economy in 2012 - expanded slightly in the final quarter of 2015.
However, there was a contraction in Retail and Wholesale (-0.5%), Professional, Scientific, Administrative and Support Services (-0.5%) and Public Administration and Defence (-0.2%).
This was countered by growth in sectors such as Accommodation and Food Services (0.3%), Transport, Storage and Communication (1.5%) and Financial and Insurance Activities (1.4%).
The production sector saw growth in Manufacturing (0.3%) and Water Supply and Waste Management (1.9%), but there was a contraction in Mining and Quarrying Industries (-2.3%) and Electricity and Gas Supply (-0.8%).
Within manufacturing there were contractions in sectors such as Textiles, Clothing and Leather Products (-1.2%) and Computer, Electrical and Optical Products (-4%).
However, there was growth in Refined Petroleum, Chemical and Pharmaceutical Production (5.3%), Transport Equipment (1%), and Food, Beverages and Tobacco (1.6%).
'Low ebb'
Responding to the figures, Scottish Retail Consortium director David Lonsdale said: "Retail sales in Scotland have consistently been at a low ebb over recent years, with retailers having to work ever harder to maintain let alone grow sales at a time of profound structural, economic and regulatory change for the industry.
"Retailers are responding positively to these changes and becoming more productive by investing in new technology, a higher skilled workforce and revamped logistics capabilities.
"However that is all the more challenging when retail sales are weak, shop prices are falling and government-imposed tax and regulatory costs are mushrooming."
Leaked documents revealed Ian Cameron was a client of Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca and used one of the most secretive - albeit lawful - tools of the offshore trade after he helped set up a fund for investors.
'Private matter'
Downing Street said people accusing the PM should "put up or shut up", after facing a day of questions from the media about whether his family retains an interest in the fund, which was registered in the Bahamas to shield it from UK tax.
BBC assistant political editor Norman Smith said Downing Street had been trying all day to draw a line under the row and to "shield" Mr Cameron, issuing a series of statements setting out the government's actions on tax avoidance.
"You can almost sense the exasperation in Number 10" that Mr Corbyn had "managed to throw them on the defensive", he added.
The Labour leader said: "I think the prime minister, in his own interest, should tell us exactly what's been going on.
"It's a private matter in so far as it's a privately held interest, but it's not a private matter if tax has not been paid. So an investigation must take place, an independent investigation."
The Labour leader said he would publish his tax returns and called on the prime minister to do the same.
Asked whether the PM should resign if he is found to have benefited, Mr Corbyn said: "Let's take one thing at a time. We need openness, we need an examination, we need a decision after that."
He said an inquiry was needed by HM Revenue and Customs to quickly get to the bottom of how much private wealth was being "siphoned off" overseas, claiming the British taxpayer is being short-changed by the super-wealthy being allowed to "dodge taxes and flout the rules".
'I own no shares'
Asked about Mr Corbyn's comments after making a speech in Birmingham, Mr Cameron said he agreed that HM Revenue and Customs must investigate alleged abuses uncovered in the leaked Panama papers.
He added: "In terms of my own financial affairs, I own no shares.
"I have a salary as prime minister, and I have some savings which I get some interest from and I have a house which we used to live in which we now let out while we're living in Downing Street, and that's all I have."
He said no prime minister had "done more to make sure we crack down on tax evasion, on aggressive tax avoidance, on aggressive tax planning both here in the UK and internationally".
Image copyrightGetty ImagesImage captionIan Cameron was a director of Blairmore Holdings
He said the government had reclaimed billions of pounds and led the world in having an open register of beneficial owners of companies, which is due to come into force in June.
Downing Street then issued a statement, adding: "To be clear, the prime minister, his wife and their children do not benefit from any offshore funds.
"The prime minister owns no shares.
"As has been previously reported, Mrs Cameron owns a small number of shares connected to her father's land, which she declares on her tax return."
Labour MP Wes Streeting, a member of the Commons Treasury Select Committee, welcomed the "clarification" but said Mr Cameron must clarify whether he has previously benefited from any off-shore funds.
"I think where David Cameron made a rod for his own back yesterday was issuing quite a qualified statement that then led people to think 'is he being shady about this, is he being evasive, are there further questions to ask'."
"I think there are still questions about whether or not he benefited in the past," he told BBC Radio 4 Today.
The leaked documents show that Ian Cameron, who died in 2010, was one of five UK directors of Blairmore Holdings who flew to board meetings in the Bahamas or Switzerland. There were also three directors in Switzerland and three in the Bahamas.
'Ahead of the pack'
If the meetings had been held in London, then it may have been considered resident in the UK and taxed as a UK company.
The leaked documents also reveal how the company used bearer shares, ensuring the true owners - the wealthy investors in Blairmore Holdings - were kept hidden from view.
Blairmore stopped using bearer shares in 2006. It was David Cameron's government that banned bearer shares in the UK in 2015.
Image captionMossack Fonseca registered more than 100,000 secret firms to the British Virgin Islands
Labour has called on the government to consider imposing "direct rule" on the British Virgin Islands - where Mossack Fonseca registered thousands of companies - and other British Overseas Territories if they do not comply with UK tax law.
Downing Street said it was close to reaching agreement with Crown Dependencies, such as Jersey and the Isle of Man, on ensuring details of who owns companies registered there are accessible to British police and other law enforcement agencies.
But it said British Virgin Islands and Cayman Islands had yet to get "over the line" in terms of "full and effective transparency" with regards to beneficial ownership information.
The British Virgin Islands government said it was "very concerned" at the reports, saying it had a "rigorous" regime that complied with international standards.
It promised a thorough investigation and to take further action where necessary.
The UK Overseas Territories Association said it remained "directly engaged" with Labour and hoped parties would continue to support territories' "self-governance and self-determination".
Eleven million leaked documents showed how Mossack Fonseca clients were able to launder money, dodge sanctions and avoid tax - the law firm says it has operated beyond reproach for 40 years.
There are links to 12 current or former heads of state in the data, including dictators accused of looting their own countries.
The Guardian has reported that a number of Conservative donors, supporters and former MPs are linked to tax havens around the world. A number of them have firmly denied any impropriety.
Reaction around the world to the Panama papers includes:
The US Department of Justice is reviewing the leaked documents to look for evidence of corruption that could be prosecuted in the US, the Wall Street Journal reports
France and Spain are investigating money laundering exposed by the leaks among their resident taxpayers
Panama President Juan Carlos Varela has said his government has "zero tolerance" for illicit financial activities and would co-operate vigorously with any judicial investigation in any country
A figure above 50 indicates expansion, but Markit said growth was "sluggish", with global economic uncertainty and the EU referendum affecting the sector.
Markit said the UK economy had slowed in the first quarter of the year.
Confidence 'in the doldrums'
The performance of the service sector is important for the UK as it accounts for more than three-quarters of the UK economy.
"An upturn in the pace of service sector growth in March was insufficient to prevent the PMI surveys from collectively indicating a slowdown in economic growth in the first quarter," said Chris Williamson, chief economist at Markit.
"The surveys point to a 0.4% increase in GDP, down from 0.6% in the closing quarter of last year.
"Business confidence remains in the doldrums as concerns about the global economy continue to be exacerbated by uncertainty at home, with nerves unsettled by issues such as Brexit and the prospect of further government spending cuts announced in the Budget," Mr Williamson added.
"It therefore seems unlikely that March's upturn in the pace of growth represents the start of a longer term upswing. In contrast, the survey data suggest growth is more likely to weaken further in the second quarter."
The Markit/CIPS survey found that growth in new business in the service sector during March hit the slowest pace since January 2013.
Manuel Brandenberg, a lawmaker in the Swiss canton of Zug, loves cash. So much so, that he once astounded a municipal official by paying his taxes with a wad of banknotes.
That belief in bills is shared by many of his compatriots, who have a penchant for hard currency even when electronic options are available. In a country whose wealth managers flourished thanks to banking secrecy, citizens often cherish the untraceable privacy conferred by notes and coins.
“Cash is property and cash is freedom,” said Brandenberg, 44, an attorney and member of the nationalist Swiss People’s Party. “It empowers the individual, because it’s tangible wealth.”
His sentiment illustrates the emotions at play as Switzerland unveils the first redesign of its banknotes in a generation. More than a decade in the making, the bills have enhanced security features and a new design, but the changes stop there. Unlike their neighbors, the Swiss have no plans to reconsider banknote denominations -- 10, 20, 50, 100 and 200 francs. Not even the highest of 1,000 francs ($1,040).
Predilection for Notes
To prevent his country from going down the same path as the euro region, where officials are toying with the idea of pulling the 500-euro ($567) note to combat crime, Brandenberg has proposed enshrining existing denominations in national law. Issuance is currently a matter for the Swiss National Bank, which will present its new 50-franc bill in Bern on Wednesday.
“We want to guarantee that cash remains in force,” says Brandenberg. “If it’s anchored in the law, it’s harder to change.”
Austria’s deputy economy minister called in February for a similar measure to preserve the 500-euro note, evidence of how the argument for privacy resonates throughout German-speaking Europe. That contrasts with other countries such as Sweden, where cash is dying out.
The predilection for notes and coins is evident on the streets of Zurich, where a number of stores don’t take plastic -- among them Belcafe at Bellevue, a busy transport hub in the center.
“I always pay for everything in cash, because it allows me to keep better tabs on my finances,” said Flamur Halili, a 22-year-old mechanic, standing in line for a roast-beef sandwich off Zurich’s Bahnhofstrasse. “With cash you can’t run up any debts.”
National data confirm that preference. In Switzerland the value of card transactions relative to economic output was roughly a third that of the U.K. or Canada, according to select Bank for International Settlements data for 2014 -- even though payment terminals were about equally prevalent. Roughly 20 percent of purchases -- including large sums for jewelry -- were paid in cash, then-Finance Minister Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf told parliament in 2014.
She spoke during a debate on an anti-money laundering law that came into force this year, establishing a ceiling of 100,000 francs on anonymous cash transactions. Charles Goodhart, a former Bank of England policy maker, said in December that the limit was so high that it could only be described as a joke.
Yet the Swiss demand for privacy is no laughing matter. The federal government appoints its own public data security officer, and banking secrecy remains in force for domestic customers even though it has all but been abolished for non-residents. A new train travel card -- similar to London’s Oyster card or New York’s MetroCard -- provokedconcerns authorities might snoop on citizens’ travel habits.
Privacy Concerns
Such nervousness holds true even for some of the Facebook generation.
While Natalie Rickli, 39, a member of the SVP and one of the country’s parliamentarians most active on social media, admits to paying bills online for convenience, when asked whether the SNB should review its denominations to hinder criminals from carrying large amounts of cash, she is unconvinced.
“There’s no reason to change things,” said Rickli. “I don’t want the state to know who goes to what restaurant. That’s none of the government’s business.”
Not everyone agrees. Cedric Wermuth, a 30-year-old Social Democrat member of the federal legislature’s lower house, says 1,000 francs is an “absurdly high number” for a banknote.
“Never in my life have I even paid 500 francs in cash,” he says. “The demand to clamp down on dubious cash transactions is totally legitimate.”
Tax Bill
As for Brandenberg, while a tongue-in-cheek push he launched earlier this year for a new 5,000-franc banknote has floundered, his measure to get the denominations written into law met with initial success at a cantonal level.
Yet even his fondness for cash has its limits: This year he settled his tax bill electronically.
Image copyrightEPAImage captionThe debt deal is a victory for President Mauricio Macri
Argentina's President Mauricio Macri has won approval for a repayment deal which should put an end to the country's 15-year battle with holdout creditors.
The years-long debt crisis has restricted Argentina's access to international credit markets and made doing business in the country difficult.
Argentina defaulted on a $100bn (£71bn) loan in 2001.
The deal is with creditors in New York.
The repayment package was finally approved by the Senate after a 12-hour debate on Wednesday.
President Macri had warned lawmakers that a "no" vote would condemn Argentina to remain a "financial pariah" shunned by global credit markets. Argentina now only has until 14 April to pay the holdouts.
Debt crisis
Image copyrightImage captionDemonstrators hold signs reading "Down with the Vulture's Deal" outside the National Congress in Buenos Aires earlier this month
Argentina's neighbours are able to borrow with interest rates of about 5%. However, Argentina has been forced to pay at least double, leaving it short of much-needed financial help.
Wednesday's "yes" vote is a victory for President Macri, who struck the debt deal after his election win in November. The debt crisis was a central part of his presidential campaign.
Analysis; Daniel Gallas, South America business correspondent
Mauricio Macri did his "homework" as promised and got Congress to meet one of the conditions for Argentina to clear its name internationally and get back to issuing bond.
Now comes the expensive part: paying out its debt.
Macri has promised the country will start paying it on 14 April, despite some reports that Argentina might want to delay the beginning of payment.
The country is not issuing bonds yet, so it is in a weak financial position.
The government is in a hurry to raise $12bn, so it can stop printing money to pay off its internal debts and stop inflation from inflicting even more pain on the economy.
However, some in the country were against the repayment package and groups protested while the deal was being deliberated.
The previous government of President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner refused to negotiate with the holdouts, whom it called "vulture funds".
Sen Anabel Fernandez, a member of a youth movement called La Campora, said: "They want to sell us a crisis so we buy an expensive debt on bad terms."
"This is taking us straight to hell," the senator said.
Paying back
Image copyrightImage captionLawmakers voted "yes" to the repayment package despite ongoing protests
The so-called holdout creditors who can now be repaid are those who refused to agree to a restructuring of Argentina's debt after it defaulted on nearly $100bn (£71bn) in 2001.
At the heart the deal is a cash payment of $4.7bn, or about 75% of what Argentina owes to funds that sued the South American country in a US court over non-payment of debt.
On 16 March, Argentina's lower house of Congress approved the debt deal after 20 hours of debate.
A majority of 165 to 86 lawmakers voted in favour of repealing two bills which stood in the way of the agreement with creditors.
The following debate in the Senate, where opposition parties have a majority, started on Wednesday, and was approved 54 votes to 16
Google would be among the large firms required to disclose tax information under the rules
