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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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_outlineMillionaires 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: https://podcasts.taxjustice.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/June-2025-Taxcast-script_-millionaire-exodus-myth.pdf
Further reading:
Millionaire exodus did not occur, study reveals, Tax Justice Network https://taxjustice.net/press/millionaire-exodus-did-not-occur-study-reveals/
Millionaire “exodus” claim backtracked but media re-run story anyway, Tax Justice Network https://taxjustice.net/press/millionaire-exodus-claim-backtracked-but-media-re-run-story-anyway/
The ‘Millionaire Exodus’ the UK Media Told You About Never Actually Happened, Byline Times https://bylinetimes.com/2025/06/10/the-millionaire-exodus-the-uk-media-told-you-about-never-actually-happened/
Citizenship must not be up for sale, speech by the Vice-President of the European Commission, EU Justice Commissioner https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/SPEECH_14_18
EU Court Rules Malta's Golden Passport Program is Illegal, OCCRP https://www.occrp.org/en/news/eu-court-rules-maltas-golden-passport-program-is-illegal
Influencer Andrew Tate got Vanuatu Passport Around Time of Arrest on Rape Charges https://www.occrp.org/en/news/exclusive-alleged-rapist-influencer-andrew-tate-got-vanuatu-passport-around-time-of-2022-arrest
Vanuatu: Council of the EU ends visa exemption https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2024/12/12/vanuatu-council-ends-visa-exemption/
Logged Pushbacks to Libya from Malta’s SAR Zone Triple Since 2020, Over 5,000 People Forced Back https://www.amphora.media/2025/06/logged-pushbacks-to-libya-from-maltas-sar-zone-triple-since-2020-over-5000-people-forced-back
Malta Migration Archive https://maltamigrationarchive.org/
Times of Malta Editorial: A shameful abdication of duty https://timesofmalta.com/article/editorial-a-shameful-abdication-duty.1107005
£160 billion could have been raised for the UK’s public finances over the past three decades if UK tax residents on the annual rich lists had been asked to pay a two per cent wealth tax on their assets over £10 million - equivalent to the cost of building 80 new hospitals in that period. (Patriotic Millionaires UK) https://patrioticmillionaires.uk/latest-news/special-report-on-the-sunday-times-rich-list-the-missing-billions?mc_cid=2f5977ff81
Family statement: Robert Agius and Jamie Vella sentenced. Despite her murderers' attempts to silence her, Daphne's legacy endures. (Daphne Caruana Galizia Foundation) https://www.daphne.foundation/en/2025/06/10/sentence-complicity
Vanuatu, Financial Secrecy Index country profile, Tax Justice Network https://fsi.taxjustice.net/country-detail/#jurisdiction_id=VU&scoring_id=268
Reporting from the Passport Papers, Daphne Caruana Galizia Foundation https://www.daphne.foundation/passport-papers/
Passport Papers: Henley and Partners’ leaked documents show most applicants are from countries where dual citizenship is not permitted https://theshiftnews.com/2021/04/22/passport-papers-henley-and-partners-leaked-documents-show-most-applicants-are-from-countries-where-dual-citizenship-is-not-permitted/
The Passport King who Markets Citizenship for Cash, a Daphne Project investigation, OCCRP https://www.occrp.org/en/project/the-daphne-project/the-passport-king-who-markets-citizenship-for-cash
Why rich foreigners may not rush to buy Trump's $5 million 'gold card' visas, Business Insider https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-gold-card-visa-demand-rich-immigrants-green-card-lutnick-2025-5
The Taxcast website with all the Tax Justice Network podcasts in five different languages are available at https://podcasts.taxjustice.net/