A new report by its own watchdog provides damning criticism of the UK government’s approach to tax as a development issue. At best, the government has ignored both international expertise and the views of the lower-income countries it claims to be helping. At worst, UK policy can be seen as pushing … [Read more...]
Aid, Tax & State-building
More evidence of the links between tax and inequality
The economists Thomas Piketty, Emmanuel Saez, Facundo Alvaredo and Anthony Atkinson have played a big role in helping analyse and popularise the role that tax rate cuts for wealthy folk play in fostering economic inequality, particularly the income shares of the top 1 percent of people compared to … [Read more...]
The Bahamas tax haven – a (re-)emerging global menace?
Update: as it happens, The Economist has just published an excellent story about the Bahamas, subtitled The Bahamas Cocks a Snook at the War on Tax Dodgers. (Our only beef with that subtitle is that this is about so much more than just tax.) We've periodically remarked on the Bahamas as a secrecy … [Read more...]
Finally, trade misinvoicing gets political
We recently helped publicise a report by the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in our blog entitled Some countries “lose” 2/3 of exports to misinvoicing. As a reminder, trade misinvoicing is a form of money laundering that involves deliberately misreporting (on an invoice to customs) … [Read more...]
Tax cuts and prosperity: new US evidence
Updated with an additional story From the New York Times: "How can America’s leaders foster broad prosperity? For most Republicans — including Donald J. Trump — the main answer is to “cut and extract”: Cut taxes and business regulations, including pesky restrictions on the extraction of … [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...]
Switzerland is handing back looted money. How big a deal is this?
In the context of a fun Twitter fight and finger-pointing between the Swiss Bankers' Association and the German Finance Ministry, there's a newish story on Quartz entitled Swiss bankers swear they are trying to help Africa get its dirty money back. It begins like this: "It irritates Valentin … [Read more...]
Three lessons on the hidden cost of corruption – for the West
A guest blog by Sigrún Davíðsdóttir Corruption and corrupt business practices have often been portrayed as a problem only endured by poor countries, of little consequence to the developed West. The three following stories show that this is a wrong-headed, old-fashioned understanding, reflecting … [Read more...]
Britain’s secrecy web: no corpses on the street, no problem
On the occasion of a global anti-corruption summit in London, Tom Burgis has written a superb long investigation into the City of London for the Financial Times -- read it, if you can get a copy. As a teaser: "For Andrea, the contrast between the American and British responses to BSI’s … [Read more...]
More than $12 trillion stuffed offshore, from developing countries alone
From The Guardian: "More than $12tn has been siphoned out of Russia, China and other emerging economies into the secretive world of offshore finance, new research has revealed, as David Cameron prepares to host world leaders for an anti-corruption summit. . . . The analysis, carried out by … [Read more...]
Guest blog: Panama, the secret garden of the Colombian oligarchy
Update: Colombia and Panama reach agreement on information-sharing. Panama, the secret garden of the Colombian oligarchy This guest blog is written by a political news writer in Colombia, who wishes to remain anonymous. As everywhere else in the world, the disclosure of the Mossack Fonseca … [Read more...]
Oxfam: the International Finance Corporation and tax havens – new report
Monday 11th April Oxfam has launched a new briefing on the IFC and tax havens. This briefing will also be presented and discussed at our event at the World Bank CSO forum on Friday 15th of April at 11 am-12.30 in Washington DC. … [Read more...]
Indonesia’s corrupt tax amnesty – how many will follow?
From Reuters: "Business may be about to look up for the [wealth management] industry helped by President Joko Widodo's tax amnesty plan that could encourage rich Indonesians to declare assets previously concealed from the authorities, either at home or abroad." So Indonesia is contemplating a tax … [Read more...]
Switzerland rejects request from Argentina on leaked HSBC accounts
From Argentina's La Nacion newspaper: "Switzerland has denied the Argentine judicial authorities information about 4,000 or so Argentine-owned bank accounts in Switzerland, saying that Argentina's request had no solid foundation." This concerns data revealed by an HSBC whistleblower, Hervé … [Read more...]
Oxfam report: Ending the Era of Tax Havens
Back in June 2000, three years before TJN's birth and at a time when nobody was talking about the issues, the charity Oxfam published a seminal document entitled Tax Havens: Releasing the hidden billions for poverty eradication. It was an important part of global tax justice history. We're … [Read more...]
