Three Big Wins
The Taxcast
Campaigning for change can feel like banging your head against a brick wall sometimes, but change is coming. On the Taxcast this month host Naomi Fowler talks us through three big tax justice wins: First, the draft UN convention - showing exactly why the United Nations is so much better and more democratic a place for the world to truly reform international tax rules. Second, the Financial Action Task force has announced important changes which indicate a shift away from the colonial mindset that established a system that's not working because it fails to hold the really big...
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Green laundering
The Taxcast
Are banks claims about their financing of fossil fuel companies true, or are they green laundering? The Tax Justice Network has been following the money, and our investigations show how financial secrecy is allowing banks to hide the true scale of their backing for activities that are accelerating the climate crisis. It's an international scandal. Plus: the judgment is final: Apple must now pay back taxes in Ireland of 13 billion euros, over 14 billion dollars. It's a big win for the European Commission. We discuss the implications. Featuring: , EU Competition Commissioner, Tax Justice...
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Crypto heists on trial
The Taxcast
There are some massive heists happening that many of us have never heard of. Taxcast host talks to investigative journalist and author about how crypto and the tech industry are impacting money laundering, and challenging national and international security. The rights and responsibilities for the tech and crypto industry, and 'freedom of speech' defences are being tested in court. The outcomes will have profound effects on all of us. "625 million is a serious contender for the biggest theft of all time. In terms of money stolen from one victim in one go, it's hard to find a case...
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The Black Tax
The Taxcast
In this episode: we go to the US to look at how African Americans were overtaxed and dispossessed - a lesser known story of struggles against tax injustice, from the experience of George Floyd's great great grandfather to this day. Taxcast host Naomi Fowler speaks to historian and author Andrew W Kahrl of The Black Tax: 150 years of theft, exploitation, and dispossession in America: "Every stage of the research on this book was one revelation after another. These legalized forms of theft actually happened at far greater frequency than historians have ever really recognized. Historically, and...
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The Corrupting of Tax Justice
The Taxcast
In this episode: we bring you stories on how we've all been cheated, and look at some of the actors involved in the corruption of tax policy making in Australia; the consequences have rippled out to affect the rest of the world. Two of the OECD's top people seem to be compromised on matters of tax and the public interest. So what does that say about their motivations? What does it say about the motivations of the organizations they work for? Should an organisation like the OECD be so strongly connected to the big four accountancy firms? And should governments? How do we protect ourselves from...
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Blockchain havens
The Taxcast
"This will supersede them all." Offshore specialist and human rights lawyer of sounds the alarm on the fast development of 'blockchain havens.' The Tax Justice Network's speaks about the challenges regulators, anti-corruption campaigners and poorer nations face. A transcript of the podcast is available here: Further reading/resources: Paul Beckett's book: An Anatomy of Tax Havens: Europe, the Caribbean and the United States of America Beneficial Ownership and Legal Responsibility: Concealment, Avoidance and Impunity, also by Paul Beckett Offshoring DAO Foundations: Top Legal...
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Crime DOES pay...?
The Taxcast
Crime doesn't pay - or does it?! Taxcast host Naomi Fowler talks to former police investigator, asset recovery specialist and co-author of about the state of criminal asset recovery: "We haven't started the war on dirty money. There's this disconnect that's taking place at a strategic level." PLUS: The Tax Justice Network's analyses Australia's much awaited, revised (aka watered down) legislation to tackle multinational tax abuse - disappointing but still significant. AND: a model wealth tax law has been agreed by consensus at the United Nations. We expected the OECD to try to block it but...
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Taxing multinationals, unitary-style
The Taxcast
While we wait for a global tax body at the United Nations, what are the ways forward for nations desperate to tax multinationals fairly? We talk unitary taxation in a special extended interview with Emeritus Law Professor, coordinator of the and Tax Justice Network special advisor . Plus: the return of our analysis slot - Taxcast host Naomi Fowler talks to of the about the US's new beneficial ownership registry and its shortcomings; and a tale of two crimes: the punishment of a whistleblower versus a magic circle lawyer in a $6000 suit. Transcript available here: Guests: ,...
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#139 People Power
The Taxcast
On the Taxcast this month: People power for tax justice is on the rise like never before. We kick off 2024 with inspiring stories on campaigns for tax reform from around the world: strategies, successes, limitations, and what we can learn from the first in-depth studies of their kind by . Plus: Malawian poet and Senior Tax Investigations Officer Robert Chiwamba pays tribute to tax collectors everywhere. You can watch him perform We Will Count Them Transcript of the show: (Some is automated) Guests: , Malawian poet and Senior Tax Investigations Officer (his youtube site is , WATCH...
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Introducing The Corruption Diaries
The Taxcast
In this brand new Tax Justice Network weekly podcast we take listeners on a journey through the eyes of anti-corruption veterans who were on the frontline of events that have defined our world today, with stories and perspectives on reform you won't hear anywhere else. In Series 1 we sit down with leading white collar crime lawyer and senior Tax Justice Network adviser Jack Blum who tells us about his life's work during a period of huge geopolitical change and transformed global tax and financial systems. From the BCCI scandal, to Panamanian dictator Noriega’s cocaine trafficking, to...
info_outlineWhen dominant multinationals get to run the world, it's not a happy place. Or a very secure one. For a long time governments have failed to take the threat from monopolies and the corporate concentration of power seriously, and deal with it. But recent crises have demonstrated how the neoliberal era is crumbling around us and governments must take action. In this episode we look at the challenges and how to tackle this in the public interest.
And, in the US, Minnesota nearly took a historic step for tax justice this month that could have changed everything by bringing corporate profit shifting to heel. The lobbyists said it was the end of the world as we know it - and sadly, they won - for now. What was the big deal? And what are the possibilities for other states and other countries?
Featuring:
- Nick Dearden of Global Justice Now
- Alex Cobham of the Tax Justice Network
- Nick Shaxson, Balanced Economy Project
- Stéphanie Yon-Courtin, MEP and Competition lawyer
- Christopher Gopal of the Global Supply Chain Center, University of Southern California
- Produced and hosted by the Tax Justice Network's Naomi Fowler
Transcript of the show: (some is automated) https://taxjustice.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Transcript_The_Taxcast_May_2023.pdf
Further reading:
- Monopoly capitalism: What is it and how do we fight it? https://www.globaljustice.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Monopoly-capitalism-primer-WEB-FINAL.pdf
- The 5 'R's of tax: https://taxjustice.net/faq/what-are-the-four-rs-of-tax/ Actually the fifth one needs adding (Reparations, or Repair)
- Resisting Monopoly Capitalism (Global Justice Now event in London, March 2023) Opening plenary https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MszQ-aj_0a8
- Resisting Monopoly Capitalism - Closing plenary https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXbOzYKGizA
- Pharmanomics: How Big Pharma Destroys Global Health (published October 2023) https://www.versobooks.com/en-gb/products/3036-pharmanomics
- How Monopoly Threatens Democracy and Security, an Open Markets Institute and Balanced Economy Project event
- Corporate taxation to curb monopoly power: a brief history and a proposal https://taxjustice.net/2022/11/02/corporate-taxation-to-curb-monopoly-power-a-brief-history-and-a-proposal/
- Tax havens meet monopoly power: why national competitiveness harms competition https://taxjustice.net/2021/08/12/tax-havens-meet-monopoly-power-why-national-competitiveness-harms-competition/
- If tax havens scare you, monopolies should too. And vice versa. https://taxjustice.net/2019/11/01/if-tax-havens-scare-you-monopolies-should-too-and-vice-versa/
- How local, state, and federal tax policies in the us undermine small business and fuel corporate concentration https://taxjustice.net/2022/11/01/us-tax-monopoly/
- Reframing tax policy to reset the rules of the monopoly game https://taxjustice.net/2022/10/27/reframing-tax-policy-to-reset-the-rules-of-the-monopoly-game/
- To tackle corruption, start with monopoly power https://thecounterbalance.substack.com/p/to-tackle-corruption-start-with-monopoly
- Nick Shaxson: Leaving the Tax Justice Network (setting up the Balanced Economy Project - the journey) https://taxjustice.net/2023/05/19/nick-shaxson-leaving-the-tax-justice-network/
For more information and podcasts go to our website: https://www.thetaxcast.com