International tax rules and international trade rules are unfair to lower-income countries: that is not only well known, but unsurprising. Rules are generally set by the most powerful parties at the table. What is more, the tax rules and the trade rules interact, with trade rules frequently … [Read more...]
Tax Treaties
Developing countries, take note: how much money do your residents hold in Australia, the most transparent country on bank account information
Australia has become the first country to publish statistics on automatic exchange of information for all jurisdictions, especially those that cannot join the automatic exchange system. Here’s what they reveal and why it has more potential than statistics published by the Bank for International … [Read more...]
The Corporate Tax Haven Index: solving the world’s broken tax system in our monthly podcast, the Taxcast
In this month's June 2019 podcast we look at the new Corporate Tax Haven Index released by the Tax Justice Network. What does it tell us about the global economy and the international tax system? And how can we fix it? We also look at how India is pushing the G20 into action on global tax rules - if … [Read more...]
The Tax Justice Network’s June 2019 Spanish language podcast: Justicia ImPositiva, nuestro podcast, junio 2019
Welcome to this month’s latest podcast and radio programme in Spanish with Marcelo Justo and Marta Nuñez, free to download and broadcast on radio networks across Latin America and Spain. ¡Bienvenidos y bienvenidas a nuestro podcast y programa radiofónica! (abajo en Castellano. In this month’s … [Read more...]
India and the renegotiation of its double tax agreement with Mauritius: an update
A few years ago we featured a guest blog by award winning essay writer and legislative aide to a Member of Parliament in India Abdul Muheet Chowdhary. He wrote here about the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement with Mauritius, a favourite tax haven for Indians, which we're sharing in full below, … [Read more...]
Blacklist, whitewashed: How the OECD bent its rules to help tax haven USA
We’ve criticised for years the farcical nature of ‘tax haven’ blacklists, whether EU or OECD ones. They all turn out to be politicised, misleading and ineffective. If you want an objectively verifiable ranking you need look no further than the Tax Justice Network’s Financial Secrecy Index. But … [Read more...]
How come Mauritius is the biggest foreign investor in India?
We’re pleased to share a new study by Suraj Jaiswal for the Centre for Budget and Governance Accountability on Foreign Direct Investment in India and the role of tax havens. As their summary of this study says: Governments across the world are trying to attract Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) as a … [Read more...]
#ParadisePapers: The Mauritian Connection
What do Angola’s sovereign wealth fund, the cast of British TV show Mrs Brown’s Boys, and Yale University’s investment in India have in common? The Paradise Papers reveal that they are all connected with offshore secrecy jurisdiction Mauritius, with the assistance of offshore law firm … [Read more...]
Half measures mean Mauritius will continue to be a tax haven for the developing world
There was news this week that Mauritius has signed the Multilateral Convention to Implement Tax Treaty Related Measures to Prevent Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (MLI). This is an initiative from the OECD to allow countries to take measures designed to stop tax avoidance by multinational companies … [Read more...]
New multilateral instrument to limit damage done by tax treaties
Today sees the signing ceremony of a new multilateral instrument (MLI) to limit the extent to which bilateral tax treaties create the conditions for large-scale multinational tax avoidance. The OECD's Pascal Saint-Amans told the Financial Times (£) that "treaty shopping will be killed". Treaty … [Read more...]
Tackling unfair tax treaties between developing countries and the UK, in UK Parliament today
Today the British Parliament will debate a Bill that tries to tackle unfair tax treaties between the UK and developing countries, some of which go back to the 1940s, sometimes when countries were still British colonies. It's an initiative we very much welcome and we hand over to our friends at … [Read more...]
UN report recommends: go after tax havens, and protect whistleblowers
From the United Nations General Assembly, the fifth report of the Independent Expert on the promotion of a democratic and equitable international order. The summary goes like this: "The report focuses on impacts of taxation on human rights and explores the challenges posed to the international … [Read more...]
Ecuador’s president calls for global tax body
Updated with additional information about Correa's administration and exposés in the Panama Papers scandal; scroll down. Ecuador's president Rafael Correa has published a significant statement about international tax governance, and specifically the prospect of creating a global tax organisation. … [Read more...]
Guest blog: involve developing countries more in international tax co-operation
After Panama: developing countries need to be involved more closely in international co-operation on tax issues A guest blog by Christian von Haldenwang, German Development Institute / Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE) Bonn, July 4, 2016 - Two major mechanisms squeeze the tax … [Read more...]
More unfair tax treaties may be renegotiated
This time it's Uganda. From Martin Hearson: "The government announced in its latest budget that it has finished formulating its new tax treaty policy, and will be renegotiating treaties that don't comply. Seatini and ActionAid Uganda will no doubt chalk this up as a success." In … [Read more...]
