The Economics Report: World Bank Official Says Panama Papers Hurting Public Trust

[0:06]From VOA Learning English, this is the Economics Report. Information from the newly released Panama Papers is hurting public trust, says a top World Bank official. Sri Mulyani Indrawati is the bank's managing director. She warns the information may make everyday citizens less willing to pay taxes. She says this could reduce public money to pay for roads, schools or other government services. Sri Mulyani is calling on policy makers to cooperate by developing stronger laws. The information came from documents stolen from a law firm in Panama. They show how wealthy people and government leaders around the world hide their money to avoid paying taxes. Sri Mulyani says that could lower the amount of money governments collect. That would hurt the economies of countries that need to grow. Tom Cardamone works at the research group Global Financial Integrity. He says the money sheltered in Panama represents a large part of the economy of some countries. He says that more than a trillion dollars in illegal money is leaving developing country economies every year. This is far more than all the foreign aid and all the foreign investment that goes into these countries every year, he says. Sri Mulyani of the World Bank says that for real change to happen, countries will have to work closely together. Without international cooperation, it is going to be very hard to chase this tax avoidance, she says. Mulyani notes that slower growth around the world is worsening economic pressures in many nations, especially in the 40 weakest economies. For VOA Learning English, I'm Dan Friedell.