Call for papers on “Human Rights and Tax in an Unequal World” Global Alliance for Tax Justice LATINDADD's Reports on Extractive Industry and Tax Avoidance in Latin America via Eurodad June 2016 could be a crucial moment for whistleblowers’ protection Eurodad Still Racing Toward The Bottom? … [Read more...]
Inequality & Democracy
Swiss whistleblower Rudolf Elmer: ‘they want to crucify me, as an example to other bankers’
Rudolf Elmer, the Swiss whistleblower who has been pursued by Swiss courts for a decade and served over half a year in prison while accused of (according to Switzerland's peculiar courts) violating the Swiss banking secrecy law, now faces two more court trials: one, on June 23rd, as part of the … [Read more...]
Links Jun 17
African Governments Should Harness Taxation Opportunities To Improve Investment In Children TJN - Africa The Panama Papers – what they mean and why they are important for Africa Financial Transparency Coalition India: Here's What PM Modi Can And Cannot Do About Offshore Black Money Huffington … [Read more...]
Links Jun 16
Why unfair tax treaties hold back developing countries The Guardian Mossack Fonseca worker arrested in Switzerland The Guardian "Employee is held on suspicion of ‘extracting confidential information’ from law firm at centre of Panama Papers". See also: Geneva Opens Criminal Probe After Mossack … [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...]
Links Jun 14
Experts rule out ‘end’ of fiscal secrecy Buenos Aires Herald Indonesia: Measuring Tax Amnesty Kompas See also recent blog Indonesia’s corrupt tax amnesty – how many will follow? The Panama Papers - Zimbabwe Must Not Waste This Opportunity allAfrica / New Zimbabwe Why Microsoft, With $100 … [Read more...]
Links Jun 13
The myth of the offshore ANCIR "African tax havens are frequently used as cogs in the wheels of corporate, criminal and political activities that desire legal and financial veils" Australian Taxation Officer recruits executives for new 'tax avoidance taskforce' hunting tax cheats, … [Read more...]
TJN sparring partner caught up in Panama Papers scandal
Back in 2005 a lobby group in Washington, D.C. issued a press release entitled Tax Justice Network Sides with Europe's Tax Collectors, Ignores Critical Role of Low-Tax Jurisdiction in Protecting Human Rights and Promoting Pro-Growth Policy. The bizarre press release accused us of putting at risk … [Read more...]
Links Jun 10
EU launches official one-year inquiry into Panama Papers scandal euronews Swiss Private Bankers demand tax breaks on criminal fines imposed for tax evasion offences swissinfo Illicit Financial Flows out of Africa (IFFoA) Database TrustAfrica See also: Corruption Stalls Zimbabwe’s Economic … [Read more...]
New tools for tax policies and human rights
From Righting Finance: The connection between civil and political rights and tax policy is so strong, that in a 2014 report on tax policy and human rights (“the report”), the UN Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights in 2014 said that the link runs both ways. That is, civil and … [Read more...]
Quote of the day – London and money laundering
From London's new mayor, Sadiq Khan: “I have got nothing against luxury properties being built in London. What we can’t have is London being the world’s capital for money laundering.” Ten years ago, who could have predicted this kind of comment? See more here. Just for instance. … [Read more...]
Want to end corruption? Crack down on tax havens.
That headline comes from an opinion piece just in the Washington Post, written by Nicholas Shaxson, a TJN writer. Among other things, it's searching for deeper understandings of corruption that capture its systemic effects on rules, systems and institutions. "Nigerian writer Chinua Achebe … [Read more...]
Liberia’s mysterious company registry system
Our friends and colleagues at Finance Uncovered have written a fascinating story entitled Liberia: America’s outpost of financial secrecy, which has been published today in South Africa’s Daily Maverick in cooperation with AmaBhungane. We'd urge you to read the whole fascinating story of … [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...]
Mauritius: India cracks down on a major tax evasion route
Update on this story available below on more recent developments India cracks down on a major tax evasion route A guest blog by Abdul Muheet Chowdhary The issue My award winning essay, written for a competition jointly held by the Tax Justice Network and Oxfam International, focused on how … [Read more...]
