From Matt Taibbi in Rolling Stone magazine: "This is the age of the whistleblower. From Chelsea Manning to Edward Snowden to the latest cloak-and-dagger lifter of files, ex-HSBC employee Hervé Falciani, whistleblowers are becoming to this decade what rock stars were to the Sixties — pop culture … [Read more...]
Human Rights
Women and Tax Justice at Beijing+20: Registration Open
Registration is open for the Queen's University Feminist Legal Studies International Women's Day conference Women and Tax Justice at Beijing+20: Taxing and Budgeting for Sex Equality Mar. 6 from noon through dinner Mar. 7 from 9 am to 5 pm To register email … [Read more...]
Quote of the day: tax-evading Greek oligarchs
From an article by UK journalist Paul Mason, published on the eve of the Greek vote: "As for the Greek oligarchs, their misrule long predates the crisis. These are not only the famous shipping magnates, whose industry pays no tax, but the bosses of energy and construction groups and football … [Read more...]
Will Antoine Deltour become a prisoner of conscience?
So the latest big tax haven whistleblower, Antoine Deltour, is facing the combined massed might of Luxembourg, one of the world's biggest and most aggressive tax havens, and the Big Four accounting firm PWC, one of the biggest and most aggressive lobbyists for offshore tax and secrecy … [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...]
Advancing Tax Justice through Human Rights: International Strategy Meeting, April 2015
Mark your calendar for a groundbreaking International Strategy Meeting Advancing Tax Justice through Human Rights Co-organized by the Center for Economic and Social Rights, Global Alliance for Tax Justice, LatinDADD, Oxfam, Red de Justicia Fiscal en América Latina y el Caribe and Tax Justice … [Read more...]
On the Capture of Luxembourg by Big Accountancy Firms
UPDATE: TJN is among a host of signatories to a letter (published here) calling on the Luxembourg authorities to refrain from prosecuting whistleblower Antoine Deltour. In the letter we note that even the Luxembourg government has publicly recognised that the information revealed by M Deltour has … [Read more...]
Tax haven whistleblowers: where are the human rights organisations?
Update: here's another whistleblower victim of tax haven practices for human rights organisations to help defend. Antoine Deltour, of Luxleaks fame. We are big fans of human rights organisations, generally speaking, but we're going to say some uncomfortable things about some of them … [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...]
Call for Papers: Women and Tax Justice Conference at Beijing+20, Ontario, March 2015
FEMINIST LEGAL STUDIES QUEEN’S and WOMEN FOR TAX JUSTICE and FEM TAX INTERNATIONAL CALL FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST IN PRESENTING PAPERS International Women’s Day Conference: Women and Tax Justice at Beijing+20: Taxing and Budgeting for Sex Equality … [Read more...]
Panama voices call it “Badge of Honor” to be called a tax haven
We recently blogged about Colombia's decision to blacklist Panama because of its hostile role as tax haven for all sorts of dirty, criminal and corrupt Colombian drugs money. We also noted that Panama had the temerity to be outraged. Now, from PanAm Post, something that really should stick in … [Read more...]
The words ‘tax’ and ‘human rights’ – now appearing often in the same sentence
From Mauricio Lazala, Deputy Director, Business & Human Rights Resource Centre: "Recently, I participated in the annual sustainability forum of a global food & beverage company that is highly regarded for its social responsibility policies. The Chairman confidently spoke about their … [Read more...]
Argentina tax bureau gets Swiss data, while others skulk in shadows
This is a sight for sore eyes. Argentina, a country that has suffered more than most under the scourge of predatory Swiss banking practices (not to mention the banking practices of the UK, United States and others), is making a very public stand. The head of Argentina's tax bureau, Ricardo … [Read more...]
Quote of the day: tax and the rule of law
From Cassandra Does Tokyo, a blogger we've not come across, via FT Alphaville: "Why is it so seemingly difficult for the uber-beneficiaries of the rule of law to reconcile their (mostly fiscal) responsibilities to the entente with The People which is the very fount that allows them, and … [Read more...]
On the human rights of bad guys
There's been a lot of talk recently in the human rights field about tax justice issues - and rightly so. Now a new academic book to add to the collection, considering things from a different angle. It's called The human rights of bad guys: corruption, asset recovery, and the protection of property … [Read more...]
