What’s in the G8 agreement and what’s missing? 

The G8 agreement means that more tax authorities will be able to find out who owns so-called phantom firms (companies which operate as a front for other organisations as a way to siphon cash through tax havens) and crack down on tax dodging.

However, poor countries haven’t been included in this deal, so authorities in the developing world won’t be able to access this information to claim back tax owed to them – funds which could have been spent dealing with hunger and malnutrition.

Future G8’s and G20’s must urgently work on a timeline of when this tax information will be shared with developing countries.

The G8 also committed to improve transparency in land investments and establish partnerships with developing countries to advance land rights in line with UN-standards. This is a step in the right direction.

However, on-going work is needed to ensure the G8 is taking action to prevent land grabs by companies based in or linked to G8 countries.

Various IF spokespeople who have been in the main G8 media centre for the last two days will be doing interviews to ensure these specific messages are heard loud and clear.

Everyone who has been involved in the IF campaign (that’s each and every one of you reading this) should feel incredibly proud for putting tackling hunger and the issues that drive it – like malnutrition, tax dodging and land grabs – at the centre of the G8 agenda. Without the IF coalition and the thousands and thousands of people who have taken action in support of IF these issues would not have had this level of global discussion.

See also report of Belfast Rally on the SCIAF website