As the revelations from the Paradise Papers hit the news stands many journalists are asserting as fact that nothing illegal has taken place. The BBC in the UK are the most aggressive proponents of this line, but the issue has been raised in other countries too. On several interviews I have done … [Read more...]
Tax Avoidance
A description of what tax avoidance is and isn’t, and why the term should normally be avoided
European Commission orders Luxembourg to claim back 250 million in taxes from Amazon – TJN Reaction
There are two very welcome pieces of tax justice news today. Firstly, the European Commission has ordered the tax haven of Luxembourg to recover 250 million euros in taxes from Amazon, finding that the benefits extended to the company amount to illegal state aid. The support Amazon received, allowed … [Read more...]
New research on key role major economies play in global tax avoidance
An important new study on Offshore Financial Centres (OFCs) from the University of Amsterdam has made some fascinating discoveries, challenging, as the Financial Secrecy Index has, the popular misconception that tax havens are only palm fringed little islands and exposing that in fact major … [Read more...]
Will the G20 ever end the global problem of tax avoidance and tax evasion?
Ahead of the G20 Summit in Hamburg this week our own George Turner has published this op-ed in the German newspaper Die Tageszeitung today. The article discusses why, despite sustained political engagement from world leaders, we are still some way from solving the problem of tax avoidance and tax … [Read more...]
Trusts – Weapons of Mass Injustice: new Tax Justice Network report
It is a fact that the trust laws of some tax havens openly promote illegality. The reality that some tax havens will not enforce foreign laws (e.g. ensuring non-recognition of foreign laws and judgements that favoured legitimate heirs and former spouses) is even publicly advertised by some offshore … [Read more...]
