The Tax Justice Network was set up in 2003, after three Jerseyfolk, Pat Lucas, Jean Andersson and Frank Norman, traveled to London to see John Christensen, the island's former economic adviser. Christensen had left the island in 1998, appalled at the corruption and malfeasance he had encountered … [Read more...]
Finance Sector
The Spider’s Web film – now available for free online
Michael Oswald's seminal documentary film on Britain and its tax haven empire is available now on YouTube. Released in 2017 to considerable critical acclaim, The Spider's Web has been screened across the world, from USA to New Zealand. It is now available for free download by anyone who wishes … [Read more...]
Is Germany’s finance minister the puppet of Big Finance?
Update, Feb 22, 2019: German Finance Minister Scholz blocks tax transparency. The Financial Times is carrying an article this week titled "Berlin falls in love with big banks" in which it quotes Chancellor Angela Merkel and her centre-left finance minister, Olaf Scholz, as having started a … [Read more...]
Extreme inequality levels in Bermuda despite its offshore services centre, in the Tax Justice Network’s August 2018 podcast
In the August 2018 Tax Justice Network monthly podcast/radio show, the Taxcast: Why are so many Bermudians leaving their beautiful island? And why have inequality levels become so extreme despite it's huge offshore services centre? We speak to Bermudian economist Robert Stubbs and hear from … [Read more...]
Accounting for influence: how the Big Four are embedded in EU tax avoidance policy
The Corporate Europe Observatory has a report out today which is well worth reading. We've written and commented extensively on the Big Four accountancy firms and the damage they do, you can read more in our 'enablers and intermediaries' section. As our CEO Alex Cobham has said, they're "not the … [Read more...]
Bermuda: inequality and poverty in UK Overseas Territory
We're very pleased to share this important report on the British Overseas territory of Bermuda, written by Bermudian economist Robert Stubbs, formerly Head of Research for Bank of Bermuda. There are more details on him and his work at the end of this fascinating and timely report. which we reproduce … [Read more...]
Guest blog: Depositors disciplining banks. What’s the impact of scandals?
We're pleased to share this guest blog from Mikael Homanen, a PhD Candidate at the Faculty of Finance at Cass Business School in the UK. Can depositor (or customer) activism make a real difference? New research presented at the Chicago Booth Stigler Center suggests that banks see significant … [Read more...]
HSBC: Gangsters of Finance: new film
We are pleased to recommend the newly released film HSBC: Gangsters of Finance, produced by ARTE TV in German, French, English and Spanish. They describe the film as follows: Since the 2008 crisis, HSBC has been involved in countless scandals: Money laundering for drug cartels, corruption, tax … [Read more...]
US tax reform and conflicts with international law: guest blog
The US tax bill will be published on Friday 15th December 2017 and will be voted on by Congress early next week. Senior Policy Advisor Didier Jacobs at Oxfam America has written this blog: The Exceptionalist Tax Bill The United States Congress is about to adopt a major tax reform that reflects … [Read more...]
The Finance Curse research agenda: what we learned
This blog was first published on 27th November 2017 on the SPERI political economy blog. We have republished it with the kind permission of the author, Andrew Baker, Faculty Professorial Fellow, SPERI who discusses the key points from the recent workshop with the Tax Justice Network: Earlier … [Read more...]
The Spider’s Web: Britain’s Second Empire – released for home viewing
from hushhushvideo PRO on November 23, 2017 Watch trailer Genres: Documentary Duration: 1 hour 18 minutes Subtitles: 7 languages + Show Availability: Worldwide TJN's John Christensen and film director Michael Oswald (97% Owned, Princes of the Yen) co-produced this 78 minute … [Read more...]
Reforming the multi-billion dollar accounting and finance education industry
We keep on saying that the Big Four accountancy firms tend to get an easy ride when it comes to the coverage of scandals like the Panama Papers and now the Paradise Papers. All too often the spotlight is shone on the celebrities and the big names that have been exposed. That's all fair enough BUT … [Read more...]
#ParadisePapers and the Big Four: in the words of a former insider
We're sharing in full an article by tax ethicist George Rozvany who racked up 32 years of experience at senior levels of Big 4 accounting firms and major corporations. We interviewed him previously on the Taxcast along with the award winning economics and finance journalist Michael West speaking on … [Read more...]
#ParadisePapers: The onshore heart of the offshore industry
We're sharing this blog in its entirety from Icelandic journalist Sigrun Davidsdottir's excellent Icelog. The Paradise Papers emphasises, yet again, that the damaging effect of offshore is much more pervasive that robbing countries of tax. Offshore creates a two-tier business environment, hiding … [Read more...]
#ParadisePapers: residency for sale to the rich and famous
Among the scandals exposed by the Paradise Papers is that of residency for sale, something I covered just last month (along with passports for sale) as a special feature in our monthly podcast and radio show, the Taxcast, which you can listen to below. The name Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll showed … [Read more...]
