The Taxcast

In this month’s June 2019 podcast we look at the new Corporate Tax Haven Index released by the Tax Justice Network. What does it tell us about the global economy and the international tax system? And how can we fix it? We also look at how India is pushing the G20 into action on global tax rules – if they don’t act it will implement its own rules.

Featuring:

• Andres Knobel, Rachel Etter-Phoya, Shanna Lima, Lucas Millán Narotzky of the Tax Justice Network’s Corporate Tax Haven Index team
• Markus Meinzer, director of the Corporate Tax Haven Index and Financial Secrecy Index research teams
• Liz Nelson, director of Tax Justice and Human Rights research
• John Christensen of the Tax Justice Network
• Presented and produced by Naomi Fowler of the Tax Justice Network

In this special extended edition of the May 2019 Taxcast we go to Preston in the North of England to see the Preston Model in action and how they’re transforming their local economy and democratising wealth. Also:

• we discuss dark money and the European elections – the elite interests aligning with the far right.

• And we ask: why doesn’t Britain have its own Huawei?

“We needed a new economic model. It was obvious that we needed something new and different and radical, based upon the economic crash of 2008 which affected us quite badly. That wealth extraction, that straight-jacket that we’re in, we want to tackle by offering an alternative…So, you’re getting that virtual cycle of keeping wealth in the community and democratising the wealth as well, and democratising the economy. We are actually bringing that democracy back. And let’s compete with the big banks. If people get educated I think we could create some kind of really strong movement.”

~ Preston City Council Leader Matthew Brown

Featuring:

• Preston City Council Leader, Matthew Brown
• Billy, Preston covered market
• Allison Watts and Kay Johnson in Preston’s first worker-owned cooperative The Larder
• David Erdal, who turned his family business into an employee-owned cooperative
• John Christensen of the Tax Justice Network
• Presented and produced by Naomi Fowler of the Tax Justice Network

• we discuss misleading reporting from the mainstream media on the financial crisis: it was overloaded with finance ‘experts’, fed us all sorts of misunderstandings about the financial crash, sold us the austerity narrative and omitted alternative solutions
• Plus: two huge court case tax and social justice wins – firstly, an unprecedented case in Kenya by Tax Justice Network Africa against the tax haven of Mauritius. Secondly, a US court has ruled that international financial institutions like the IMF and the World Bank CAN be sued when their development projects hurt communities
• And we’re happy to report that the EU Commission WILL now investigate one of the cases exposed by the #LuxLeaks whistleblowers…in last month’s Taxcast we joined the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists in calling on the Competition Commissioner to prove there was no conflict of interest.

the way the mainstream media reported on the financial crisis, the structural explanations were largely missing from most media accounts, the deeper structural problems with the banking sector and issues around financialisation and how that affected the economy these weren’t really covered”

Mike Berry of Cardiff University’s School of Journalism, Media and Culture

and author of The Media, the Public and the Great Financial Crisis

Featuring:

• Mike Berry of Cardiff University’s School of Journalism, Media and Culture and author of The Media, the Public and the Great Financial Crisis
• Simon Bowers of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists
• John Christensen of the Tax Justice Network
• Produced and presented by Naomi Fowler of the Tax Justice Network

Original post with further reading available here

In Edition 86 of the February 2019 Tax Justice Network’s monthly podcast/radio show, the Taxcast (available on iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify and other podcast platforms):

• why hasn’t the European Commission investigated any of the secret tax deals that were exposed by the LuxLeaks whistleblowers where tax authorities gave multi-national companies outrageously low tax rates?
• Plus ‘aid’ for whom? We discuss the financialisation of aid
• And also: zero federal income taxes last year in the US for one of the world’s biggest monopolists: Amazon

Featuring:

• Simon Bowers of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists
• John Christensen of the Tax Justice Network
• Senator Mike Gianaris, New York Senate
• Produced and presented by Naomi Fowler of the Tax Justice Network

Simon Bowers of the ICIJ on why the EU Commission has so far failed to investigate the LuxLeaks cases almost five years later:

it’s a burning question…the EU’s Competition Commissioner Margarethe Vestager said yes, we’re looking at these documents, we will examine it, we’ll evaluate whether or not this leads to the opening of a case and we’ve not heard anything since…We all know how soft power works and there is clearly a conflict there.”

In this month’s podcast: time’s running out to tackle climate crisis facing us all. We look at environmental taxes and making them fair. Plus we discuss the gilets jaunes in France, a movement that’s been widely reported as anti-green taxes, but is in fact born from wider desperation for their ‘let them eat cake’ President Macron to reverse a series of policies that have worsened inequality in the country. We give Monsieur le President a lesson in how not to implement an environmental tax…

A Climate of Fairness: Environmental Taxation and Tax Justice in Developing Countries

In the November 2018 Taxcast: we look at how governments can better protect, encourage and even incentivise whistleblowers. Also: what do the latest Brexit developments tell us about dark money, the ‘influence industry’ and plutocracy? Plus, we hear from the UN’s Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights Philip Alston on his findings from his UK visit.

In the September 2018 Tax Justice Network monthly podcast/radio show, the Taxcast:

• we talk to journalist Oliver Bullough about his new book, just out ‘Moneyland: why thieves and crooks now rule the world, and how to take it back’ We discuss the transnational elite that have broken free of democratic control and corruption contagion.
• Also, 10 years after the financial crash, the risks are as high as before, if not more severe – how do we tackle the next crisis?
• Plus, the fifth aide of US President Trump has now been convicted of, or admitted criminal charges: what does Paul Manafort’s case tell us about the spread of plutocracy and oligarchy?

In the August 2018 Tax Justice Network monthly podcast/radio show, the Taxcast:

• Why are so many Bermudians leaving their beautiful island? And why have inequality levels become so extreme despite it’s huge offshore services centre? We speak to Bermudian economist Robert Stubbs and hear from Bermudians in the film Poverty in Paradise

Also:

• We discuss the fight-back against two important financial transparency gains by law firm Mishcon de Reya
• And, we discuss the need to combat fake think tanks putting out ‘fake news’

We’ve had leak after leak, whistleblower after whistleblower. But no matter what the scandal is, when it comes to financial secrecy and tax dodging, the so-called big four accountancy firms are key players. We interview investigative journalist Richard Brooks of the Private Eye on his new book: Bean Counters: the triumph of the accountants and how they broke capitalism.

Plus: Will President Trump be prosecuted for foundation fraud? And can a leopard change its spots? How come the secrecy jurisdiction of Delaware came out in support of a financial transparency bill?

In this month’s Taxcast: We discuss why we can’t afford the rich and challenge ideas about wealth, entrepreneurialism and investment.
Also: ten years ago the Tax Justice Network was told it’d never happen, but this month British MPs voted to stop secret ownership of companies in British Overseas Territories. The Crown Dependencies got away for now. But the pressure is on them as a UK Foreign Affairs Committee report says corrupt assets of Kremlin-connected individuals pouring in to London is a threat to the UK’s national security. And while some of the money hidden in the Overseas Territories may flow to the United States, the EU may actually add it to their blacklist of non-cooperative jurisdictions…