From Michael West, an Australian tax journalist: "In Australia, Part 4a of the Tax Act deems that the principal purpose of a transaction should be commercial (rather than tax driven). In light of the proliferation of tax haven activities by Australian companies this law, Part 4a, must be the most … [Read more...]
Inequality & Democracy
Report: why we need to tax corporations now, more than ever
Update: now on Naked Capitalism, where it's attracted a lot of interesting commentary Last year we published a document entitled Ten Reasons to Defend the Corporate Income Tax, outlining how the tax is under constant attack, in country after country, and explaining why it is one of the most … [Read more...]
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...]
Links Aug 19
How the multinationals do it ABC On multinationals, the Big 4 & tax havens. Interview includes TJN's Nicholas Shaxson, author of Treasure Islands: Tax Havens and the Men Who Stole the World. World's Biggest Corporations Won't Pay Taxes at the Olympics telesur Brazil will lose about a … [Read more...]
Why the Swiss case against whistleblower Elmer may hurt the bankers
Rudolf Elmer, the Cayman-based Swiss whistleblower who went to prison after spilling secrets relating to the Swiss bank Julius Baer, has long been victimised not only by the Swiss banking establishment, and Switzerland's courts (which as we've extensively documented, seem to have played fast and … [Read more...]
Links Aug 16
Indonesia plans tax haven on two islands near Singapore The Straits Times See also: Tax Haven in Indonesia? Corporate Income Tax Indonesia Slashed? Indonesia Investments, and Read about Tax Wars here Some shell companies sidestep new UK transparency rules Reuters Scotland formally calls on … [Read more...]
Links Aug 12
Small but not too beautiful: Europe’s micro-countries may be places where people are up to no good, but so are bigger ones The Economist New Zealand Foreign Trusts: the Scandals, the Reforms, and Some Throat-Clearing From the EU naked capitalism Joseph E. Stiglitz and Mark Pieth: Why We Left … [Read more...]
Links Aug 10
World Social Forum 2016 - Tax Justice and Fight against Poverty World Social Forum 2016 - Women & Girls, Equality & Tax Justice World Social Forum 2016 - Disarm finance and achieve tax justice World Social Forum 2016 - Tax Justice & Human Rights Forum World Social Forum 2016 … [Read more...]
Links Aug 8
Experts Quit Panama's Transparency Committee Over Lack of Transparency ICIJ Developing Nations Seek Tax Body to Curb Illicit Financial Flows Inter Press Service DRC’s largest mine was just sold. And DRC got nothing. Oxfam: The Politics of Poverty How PWYP-Indonesia is Turning Extractives … [Read more...]
Links Aug 5
Latin American tax clampdown latest threat to Swiss bank accounts Reuters Rio-2016: The Olympic tax binge Outras Palavras (In Portuguese) German state shares Swiss bank details swissinfo Panama Papers: EU Parliament to ask Mossack Fonseca representatives to testify The Parliament … [Read more...]
Links Aug 3
LuxLeaks is not over - Luxembourg Prosecutor appeals against LuxLeaks outcome Luxemburger Wort See our blog The #LuxLeaks whistleblowers verdict: our statement On debt and taxation, rich and poor countries are worlds apart The Guardian Mapping global business opinions on human rights … [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...]
Links Jul 27
Christian Aid Calls On UK's Prime Minister To Start Her Tax Haven Clean Up Close To Home One year after Financing for Development Conference in Addis Ababa, rich countries blocking UN from working on tax, again Financial Transparency Coalition Is India close to passing a law to identify true … [Read more...]
