President Obama called on Congress May 6 to fully close loopholes that allow tax evasion, a day after his administration announced a set of new financial regulations.
The rules would force companies to disclose more information about their owners, in an effort to crackdown on tax evaders and money launderers.
The move comes weeks after 11.5 million documents from the Panamanian law firm, Mossack Fonseca, were released. The data leak included names of politicians and celebrities.
“In recent months we’ve seen just how big a problem corruption and tax evasion have become around the globe. We saw what happened with the release of the Panama Papers,” Obama said in a press conference.
“We’ve seen the degree to which both legal practices of tax avoidance that are still unfair and bad for the economy as well as illegal practices that in some cases involve various activities, continue to exist and spread,” he added.
The legislation would further enhance transparency in the U.S. banking system and help law enforcement track down secret owners.
