In the April 2015 Tax Justice Network podcast: How just are our tax systems towards women? A Taxcast chat with award-winning filmmaker Michael Winterbottom, about his new Russell Brand film The Emperor's New Clothes. Plus: one of the US' biggest corporations (and tax avoiders) is repatriating … [Read more...]
Tax and corporate responsibility
The Rumble Down Under: democracy v multinationals in Australia
This is just one part of what one might call the 'mega-capture' of political processes, around the world, by the Big Four accountancy firms. … [Read more...]
Quote of the day – on attitudes to corporate responsibility
Our quote of the day comes from Jolyon Maugham, a UK tax barrister. Our quote of the day is the bit in bold, which is a sign of how much success we and our allies have had in changing the debates: "Survey after survey places tax first amongst CSR concerns. Tax structured transactions are in near … [Read more...]
Tax Justice Research Bulletin 1(3)
By Alex Cobham, TJN's Director of Research March 2015. Welcome to the third Tax Justice Research Bulletin, a monthly series dedicated to tracking the latest developments in policy-relevant research on national and international tax. This issue looks at new papers on the responsibilities … [Read more...]
New Report: Ten Reasons to Defend the Corporate Income Tax.
UPDATES 2018 - Tax incentives in mining: minimising risks to revenue, OECD/Intergovernmental forum on mining, minerals, metals, and sustainable development. "Tax incentives are costly, leading many countries to forgo vital revenues in exchange for often illusive benefits. . . there is little … [Read more...]
Bankers have a moral compass, it just may not look like yours
Guest blog by Jörg Wiegratz, lecturer in political economy of global development, University of Leeds We’re getting rather used to revelations about sharp practice in the banking sector. The row about HSBC’s tax services to rich clients has raised, yet again, crucial questions about the business … [Read more...]
The political mathematics of tech giants
Some political mathematics. A + B + C + D + E = F. Here's A: US tech giants launch fierce fightback against global tax avoidance crackdown. Reforms "must be resisted." Now B: The libertarian Cato Institute, funded by the billionaire industrialist Koch brothers, said it had received support from … [Read more...]
Credit Suisse’s U.S. public hearing on Wednesday
A guest blog by Heather Lowe of Global Financial Integrity, with thanks: As many of you know, Credit Suisse AG (CSAG) was convicted in November of U.S. felony charges relating to assisting (and soliciting) tax evasion by U.S. taxpayers. A consequence of this felony conviction is that, according … [Read more...]
Dublin event: The Human Rights Impact of Tax and Fiscal Policy
Hurry, while tickets last. One to add to our Events Page, and to our Tax Justice and Human Rights page. From Christian Aid: The Human Rights Impact of Tax and Fiscal Policy … [Read more...]
Intermediaries survey – help shape our engagement with the professions
Read The Professions Issue of Tax Justice Focus here. Take part in the survey here. … [Read more...]
CEO: EU Commission gets advice on tax policies from #LuxLeaks tax dodgers
From the Corporate Observatory Europe, an important article entitled Commission gets advice on tax policies from LuxLeaks tax dodgers. It begins: "LuxLeaks documents recently revealed that the consultancy PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) has created questionable strategies enabling big businesses to … [Read more...]
Not In My Name: remarkable, rare voices of remorse and mortification in Luxembourg
We have often remarked on how easy it is for financial services interests to "capture" small tax havens or secrecy jurisdictions. It's a common pattern and a woefully under-studied phenomenon where the capture by global offshore finance extends beyond the policy-making apparatus … [Read more...]
Global Investor Groups Support Tax Justice and Transparency
From Corporate Governance, a news release basically taking a series of core tax justice positions ahead of the G20 summit meeting in Brisbane this weekend: Investors Back Global Tax Reform and Transparency In a global first, a group of institutional asset owners and managers are jointly calling … [Read more...]
Unions Push for Tax Responsibility in Pension Funds
From the International Trade Union Confederation: Nov 9, 2014 - Trade unions have unveiled a new initiative to tackle global tax evasion by integrating tax risks into responsible investment policies in pension funds worth over $20trillion where unions and their trustees are involved in fund … [Read more...]
PWC and Luxembourg: no, this wasn’t ‘legal’ behaviour
From Prem Sikka, a quote from an article from June that provides essential context for those who would dismiss the explosive leaks and analysis from the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) on Luxembourg. The Big Four accountancy firm PWC has been exposed as having … [Read more...]