From the Fools' Gold blog: We've sometimes used the term 'tax wars' instead of 'tax competition' to describe the process by which countries try to tempt mobile capital by offering tax breaks, prompting others to follow suit in a race to the bottom. Countries often do this in the name of 'tax … [Read more...]
Tax Wars
The West African Tax Giveaway: new report
An important joint report has been published by TJN-Africa and Actionaid looking at corporate tax incentives and their impact in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) -- and in particular Nigeria, Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire and Senegal. The report's first finding is that: I. … [Read more...]
Tracking corporate tax breaks: a welcome new form of transparency emerges in the U.S.
Cross-posted with Fools' Gold: Across the world, corporations are showered with tax breaks and other inducements in the name of 'competitiveness.' In most cases these tax breaks don't affect investment decisions in any way. They are pure giveaways. In many countries it's been hard to track the … [Read more...]
Will the patent box break BEPS?
By Alex Cobham, our research director: first posted at Uncounted. The UK has successfully defended the 'patent box' against the charge that it is a major avenue for multinational corporate tax abuse. Now everybody wants one, even though the evidence suggests that only multinationals will … [Read more...]
Should Nation States Compete? – download the workshop presentations here
TJN recently held its annual research workshop in conjunction with the Association for Accountancy & Business Affairs and City University at City University London. You can download the presentations given at that workshop from the links below. Matthew Watson – ‘Following in John Methuen’s … [Read more...]
Tax Justice Research Bulletin 1(6)
June 2015. Surprising everyone by actually arriving within the stated month, here’s the sixth Tax Justice Research Bulletin – a monthly series dedicated to tracking the latest developments in policy-relevant research on national and international tax, available in full over at TJN. This issue … [Read more...]
Juncker invites himself to Luxleaks hearing
This blog looks at a report from EurActiv about the so-called Luxleaks probes, which are looking at whether multinational companies using Luxembourg schemes (involving so-called 'tax rulings') violated European rules. Jean-Claude Juncker is not only head of the European Commission, but former … [Read more...]
Should Nation States Compete? Discussion workshop final programme
Discussion Workshop Should Nation States Compete? … [Read more...]
Tax Justice Research Bulletin 1(5)
May 2015. Welcome to the fifth Tax Justice Research Bulletin, a monthly series dedicated to tracking the latest developments in policy-relevant research on national and international taxation. This issue looks at a fascinating thesis on the different people and organisations that influence the … [Read more...]
Tax wars: seminar at European parliament
A seminar at the European parliament in Brussels, featuring TJN's Markus Meinzer: … [Read more...]
Bill Gates: corporate tax rates at 35% won’t stop the innovators
Via the Fools' Gold blog: A Bloomberg report on a Bill Gates interview: 'Gates scoffed at comparisons linking taxes and regulation to slower growth. “The idea that there’s some direct connection, that all these innovators are on strike because tax rates are at 35 percent on corporations, … [Read more...]
A short FAQ on the European Parliament’s probe into tax rulings
We have just mentioned a demonstration today in Luxembourg, in the context of a visit there by the European Parliament committee tasked with following up on the LuxLeaks affair. (It's known as "The Committee on Tax Rulings and Other Measures Similar in Effect" or TAXE for short.) Christian Hallum … [Read more...]
Tax Justice demonstration in Luxembourg as EU tax body visits
Update 2: with a report on the demonstration in Luxemburger Wort, which in contrast to our earlier experiences of Luxembourg media, was quite balanced. Update1 : with a photo (below) of today's protest in Luxembourg. Some 50-60 people are reckoned to have attended, a good turnout … [Read more...]
Is France’s economy really less ‘competitive’ than Britain’s?
This post is just a reminder, really, about all the nonsense that is spoken in the name of 'competitiveness.' Of course, this is just quarterly data, and the UK was recently growing faster than France. We aren't going to get into details in this short blog. … [Read more...]
Why Gender Equality Requires More Tax Revenue
This is the third post this week on the topic of gender, and to celebrate our arrival in the modern world we have created a new topic page, where you will permanently be able to access news and analysis in this area. Now we're delighted to host a guest blog by Diane Elson, Chair of the UK … [Read more...]
