Immigrants, tax and bullying in the USA
The Taxcast
The persecution of anyone suspected of being an undocumented immigrant in the United States is not only taking the form of armed, masked ICE agents. Tax is being weaponised against them too. An estimated 10.9 million undocumented immigrants are the powerhouse of the United States economy, and also an exploitable workforce with minimal rights. It turns out that they're paying a higher effective tax rate than 55 mega-corporations and several billionaires: There's something very wrong with our tax system, that people with that much wealth could be paying a lower tax rate than undocumented...
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Millionaire exodus myth
The Taxcast
Millionaires are not fleeing countries to escape taxes. The Tax Justice Network has analysed these claims and found it's questionable data published by a firm that helps the super-rich buy their way out of rules that apply to everybody else. In fact, things are changing for people in the business of helping to sell passports and residency. Some doors are closing... Plus, we look at the latest results from the Financial Secrecy Index - what are the latest global trends and have you heard of an anocracy?! Transcript of the show: Further reading: Millionaire exodus did not occur, study reveals,...
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How to spend 14 billion
The Taxcast
The life-changing, life-saving, transformational nature of tax - for people and planet. Ireland's got a tax windfall of about €14 billion - that's roughly $15 billion. What are they going to do with it..? "This is the kind of moment that doesn't come around often and we really need to seize it. Or if we let the opportunity slip through our fingers, it's going to have impacts for future generations." ~ Mansi Rawat, Social Justice Ireland We don't do enough about blue sky thinking on how tax can transform our lives. This is our chance to unlock our imaginations. It's also time for...
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#153 Criminalising Journalists
The Taxcast
The Taxcast looks at the battle for freedom of the press in Switzerland and the implications for the rest of the world. Investigative journalists like Bastian Obermayer risks arrest, fines and imprisonment if he sets foot in Switzerland again, and Swiss journalists are having to turn away strong public interest stories - for fear of not just rich and powerful people coming after them, but also the Swiss state. Switzerland's always been famous for its banking secrecy laws and it's never been the friendliest place for investigative journalists. Now the situation threatens to get even worse....
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The Chinese Phantom
The Taxcast
How easy is it to get filthy rich selling arms to anyone who'll pay? There may be sanctions, there may be laws, but even though he's the FBI's most wanted fugitive, a Chinese arms dealer and manufacturer has evaded arrest for two decades. Who could be better to investigate one of the world’s most dangerous men and tell this story than Panama Papers journalists? Taxcast host Naomi Fowler speaks to Frederik Obermaier about the book The Chinese Phantom: the Hunt for the World's most Dangerous Arms Dealer. What does it tell us about sanctions and financial secrecy at a time of rising autocracy...
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The Taxcast: trailer
The Taxcast
Listen to the Taxcast wherever you get your podcasts. You can subscribe by email and get lots of resources and further reading on our website here: The Tax Justice Network has monthly podcasts in different languages focused on different regions of the world, all available here Also available there is our series The Corruption Diaries; a journey through the eyes of anti-corruption veterans, with unique perspectives on combating some of the most compelling ethical challenges of our time.
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Ending US financial secrecy
The Taxcast
The rollercoaster story of the battle in the US (the world's biggest global financial secrecy offender) over the implementation of a beneficial ownership register, the attempts to stop it and the (many) lessons learned from the UK's registers. The US's Corporate Transparency Act seemed to be on track. Until it wasn't... "Everything is bigger in Texas, that's what they like to say! And as we've learned, even court orders are bigger in Texas." Meanwhile, we take a look at UK company registration progress, since the days when "you could just set up a company for 12 pounds and say you were Mickey...
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al-Assad and Guernsey
The Taxcast
We look at the Bureau of Investigative Journalism story about a Syrian kleptocrat and alleged war criminal, and the British Crown Dependency of Guernsey. It throws up all kinds of questions about policing compliance, enforcement and the need for public beneficial ownership registers, with good quality information. Also, on day one of his presidency, Donald Trump pulled the United States out of the OECD's global minimum tax deal. So what now? We'll talk to the Tax Justice Network's Alex Cobham. Featuring: at The , Ed Siddons Guernsey-based investigative and podcast , Rob Byrne Alex...
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$6.2 million banana
The Taxcast
A world where someone pays $6.2 million for a banana duct-taped to a wall is a world that needs wealth taxes. But when wealth taxes are considered by politicians and governments, unsubstantiated spin and myth making dominates the debate. (If you can call it a debate). We look at the Tax Justice Network's modest wealth tax proposal which could help governments increase their national budgets by 7 percent a year, a potential global revenue of more than 2 trillion US dollars annually. And we discuss what research really says about so-called 'tax flight' by the very wealthy because of tax reforms....
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Trump: All's Not Lost
The Taxcast
What are the implications of Donald Trump's election victory for tax justice and the anti-corruption fight in the US and globally? We see a moment of clarity... Host talks to of the based in Europe and of the in Washington, US. We also have two very good pieces of news: one is the latest vote at the UN as countries vote overwhelmingly to take negotiations on the UN Tax Convention to the next step, leaving the blocker nations in a tiny minority. And the second piece of good news is that despite huge lobbying to try to stop them, Australian politicians have shown how politicians really can...
info_outlineThe rollercoaster story of the battle in the US (the world's biggest global financial secrecy offender) over the implementation of a beneficial ownership register, the attempts to stop it and the (many) lessons learned from the UK's registers. The US's Corporate Transparency Act seemed to be on track. Until it wasn't... "Everything is bigger in Texas, that's what they like to say! And as we've learned, even court orders are bigger in Texas."
Meanwhile, we take a look at UK company registration progress, since the days when "you could just set up a company for 12 pounds and say you were Mickey Mouse with a shareholder Donald Duck and no one asked any questions." (Spoiler alert: there's still a long way to go)
Guests include: Zorka Milin and Ian Gary of the Financial Accountability and Corporate Transparency Coalition, Cynthia O'Murchu Financial Times Investigative Reporter, Graham Barrow, financial crime sleuth and podcaster, the Dark Money Files, campaigner and author Oliver Bullough
Hosted and produced by Naomi Fowler, co-produced by Leo Schick.
Transcript of this episode: https://podcasts.taxjustice.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Transcript_Feb_25.pdf
Further reading:
What is beneficial ownership? https://taxjustice.net/faq/what-is-beneficial-ownership/
How to fix beneficial ownership frameworks, so they actually work https://taxjustice.net/2023/12/20/new-report-on-how-to-fix-beneficial-ownership-frameworks-so-they-actually-work/
Ownership Transparency https://thefactcoalition.org/issues/ownership-transparency/
Beneficial ownership registration around the world, 2022: https://taxjustice.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/State-of-Play-of-Beneficial-Ownership-2022-Tax-Justice-Network.pdf
US Judge Lifts Last Beneficial Ownership Roadblock https://lnkd.in/gNYN6nrg
Biden’s DOJ just asked the Supreme Court to do a huge favor for Donald Trump https://www.vox.com/scotus/393540/supreme-court-garland-texas-top-cop-shop-nationwide-injunction
Supreme Court Allows Enforcement of Major Anti-Corruption Law to Resume, FACT Coalition: https://thefactcoalition.org/supreme-court-allows-enforcement-of-major-anti-corruption-law-to-resume/
US company database remains on hold, despite Supreme Court decision https://www.icij.org/investigations/fincen-files/us-company-database-remains-on-hold-despite-supreme-court-decision/
Supreme Mess: The Beneficial Ownership Interest Reporting Controversy Lands At The U.S. Supreme Court https://www.forbes.com/sites/jayadkisson/2025/01/15/supreme-mess-the-beneficial-owne[…]interest-reporting-controversy-lands-at-the-us-supreme-court/
The Corporate Transparency Act is Constitutional, Government and “Friend of the Court” Briefs Make Clear https://thefactcoalition.org/the-corporate-transparency-act-is-constitutional/
How overseas territories are being used to bypass UK transparency rules https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpolicy/how-overseas-territories-are-being-used-to-bypass-uk-transparency-rules/
Owners of 53,000 properties still unknown https://www.lawgazette.co.uk/news/owners-of-53000-properties-still-unknown/5115054.article
Who paid £139 million for a Regent’s Park mansion? Nobody knows. https://www.the-londoner.co.uk/the-regents-park-mansion-mystery/
How Do Judges Become Judges? Here Are Five Main Ways (US) https://www.democracydocket.com/analysis/how-judges-become-judges/