Inequality & Democracy
The Offshore Wrapper: a week in tax justice #59
Our quirky weekly news round-up from the topsy-turvy world of tax havens. The piratical Duchy of Luxembourg charges journalist over LuxLeaks What does Jean-Claude Juncker think of this? Luxembourg, the country he led for 18 years and steered in the direction of becoming one of Europe's biggest … [Read more...]
HSBC whistleblower Falciani, on tax havens and whistleblowing
This video comes from The Guardian: "HSBC files whistleblower Hervé Falciani: 'This money comes from mafia, http://premier-pharmacy.com/product-category/anti-inflammatories/ drug traffickers, blood diamonds and tax evasion' " Alternatively, you can watch it here. … [Read more...]
Working people pay taxes – corporations must pay their share!
Public service trade unions and the Global Alliance for Tax Justice invite members to join in marching this May Day under the banner “Working people pay taxes – corporations must pay their share!” … [Read more...]
Transfer pricing: what developing countries are doing, China edition
Last December Krishen Mehta wrote us a longish article entitled Developing Countries and Tax - Ten Ways Forward. It outlines a series of measures that developing countries can consider as they seek to curb tax cheating by multinational corporations. This blog is really just a pointer to an article … [Read more...]
Links Apr 24
Shock at Luxembourg’s decision to charge LuxLeaks reporter Reporters Without Borders Responsible Tax Practice by Companies: A Mapping and Review of Current Proposals ActionAid Towards a Common African Position on Financing for Development: Governments and Civil Society Debate in Addis Ababa … [Read more...]
The Tax Justice Network podcast, April 2015
In the April 2015 Tax Justice Network podcast: How just are our tax systems towards women? A Taxcast chat with award-winning filmmaker Michael Winterbottom, about his new Russell Brand film The Emperor's New Clothes. Plus: one of the US' biggest corporations (and tax avoiders) is repatriating … [Read more...]
Links Apr 23
Luxembourg court charges French journalist over LuxLeaks role Reuters See also: Charges against #LuxLeaks reporter by Luxembourg authorities threaten press freedom ICIJ, Luxembourg court charges LuxLeaks journalist EU Business, and recent ICIJ article by Edouard Perrin ‘This story is global, it … [Read more...]
How Swiss banks moved their evasion experts to Latin America
An interview with Swiss banking whistleblower Stéphanie Gibaud in the Buenos Aires Herald (hat tip: Jorge Gaggero). It's fascinating. We'll post just a couple of excerpts here, and advise readers to look at the whole thing. For instance: "I did public relations for the bank, which means you … [Read more...]
The deep joy of trusts and foundations
We aren't sure whether to be horrified, flattered or entertained. Take a look at this peculiar video from a rather iffy-looking offshore promoter, complete with '80s soundtrack and faux newsroom. If you go to the original source of this video, it turns out that they are explicitly using TJN … [Read more...]
Report: parties rely on unsafe top tax estimates in UK election
Tax is one of the key battlegrounds in the UK’s general election due on May 7. No tax is more important than the income tax, and debates about the wisdom of cutting or hiking the top rate of income tax seem likely to heat up as polling nears. Some political parties advocate raising the top tax … [Read more...]
Links Apr 20
Combatting Tax Havens: What has been done, and what should be done Eva Joly and Alternatives Economiques (In French, with English version available soon) EU must pull its weight to help create a better global financial system The Guardian Indian Finance Minister Arun Jaitley: Automatic info … [Read more...]
Quote of the day – finance for development
From Tove Maria Ryding and María José Romero, an article in The Guardian, looking at the UN's Finance for Development process, and a high-level conference set for Adis Ababa in July: "Finance for Development (FfD) is not a fundraising event. It focuses on systemic issues such as illicit financial … [Read more...]
Links Apr 17
Joint May Day statement: Working people pay taxes – corporations must pay their share! Global Alliance for Tax Justice Angola’s sovereign fund pays $100 million to a shell company index Commodity giants' Singapore trading hubs under fire in tax probes Reuters Christine Lagarde, scourge of … [Read more...]
Tipping the balance: new global corporate law
The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) being secretly negotiated between the USA and the EU countries is widely criticised for opening the way for powerful corporations to challenge legitimate governments and use unaccountable arbitration processes to overturn democratically … [Read more...]
