The Taxcast

The Taxcast is a monthly podcast/radio show from the Tax Justice Network with the latest from the world of tax havens, financial secrecy and tax abuse. We explore these most challenging ethical and economic issues of our times with transformational economic analysis you won’t hear anywhere else. Available on most podcast apps: https://pod.link/620020246 Website: https://podcasts.taxjustice.net/production/taxcast/ Subscribe by email: naomi [at] taxjustice.net

Immigrants, tax and bullying in the USA 07/24/2025

Immigrants, tax and bullying in the USA 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 immigrants who are generally working in low paying jobs. A nation that's focused on persecuting and purging specific groups of people is not a healthy one. And as people are being ripped out of their communities, we look at the data that show how devastating it is for the economy and public services too. Plus: bullying at home, bullying abroad: President Trump is deploying tariffs and threats of tariffs against countries who have the audacity to want to tax US multinationals fairly on the business they do in their countries. We look at the options for nations to stand together and resist. The US administration wants US multinationals to be more able to continue to commit corporate tax abuse than everybody else. Featuring: Alex Cobham, Tax Justice Network Lauren Loricchio, investigations editor, Tax Notes William Rice, policy consultant, Americans for Tax Fairness Delia Catalina Ramírez, Congresswoman, Illinois, District 3 Co-produced by host Naomi Fowler and Leo Schick. Transcript (some is automated and may not be 100% accurate) Further reading: Information Sharing Deal Complicates Immigrant Return Filing, Lauren Loricchio, Tax Notes What a 3.5% tax on remittances could do to the developing world, Jesse Chase-Lubitz, Devex Undocumented Workers Pay Higher Effective Tax Rate than 55 Mega Corporations and Several Billionaires, Americans for Tax Fairness study Report: Report: How Undocumented Immigrants Contribute to Our Economy & Pay Higher Tax Rates Than Many Major Corporations, Americans for Tax Fairness ICE Agents Deserve No Privacy, the Intercept: "Armed gangs of officers, often masked and anonymous" We’re Now at the Stage Where Criminals Are Impersonating ICE Agents, This is what happens when federal authorities are allowed to seize people without identifying themselves, The New Republic Tax Payments by Undocumented Immigrants, Institute of Taxation and Economic Policy Our website with all our podcasts is where you can also subscribe and get an email every time the Taxcast drops! /episode/index/show/taxcast/id/37537750

Millionaire exodus myth 06/27/2025

Millionaire exodus myth 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, Tax Justice Network Millionaire “exodus” claim backtracked but media re-run story anyway, Tax Justice Network The ‘Millionaire Exodus’ the UK Media Told You About Never Actually Happened, Byline Times Citizenship must not be up for sale, speech by the Vice-President of the European Commission, EU Justice Commissioner EU Court Rules Malta's Golden Passport Program is Illegal, OCCRP Influencer Andrew Tate got Vanuatu Passport Around Time of Arrest on Rape Charges Vanuatu: Council of the EU ends visa exemption Logged Pushbacks to Libya from Malta’s SAR Zone Triple Since 2020, Over 5,000 People Forced Back Malta Migration Archive Times of Malta Editorial: A shameful abdication of duty £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) Family statement: Robert Agius and Jamie Vella sentenced. Despite her murderers' attempts to silence her, Daphne's legacy endures. (Daphne Caruana Galizia Foundation) Vanuatu, Financial Secrecy Index country profile, Tax Justice Network Reporting from the Passport Papers, Daphne Caruana Galizia Foundation 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 Why rich foreigners may not rush to buy Trump's $5 million 'gold card' visas, Business Insider The Taxcast website with all the Tax Justice Network podcasts in five different languages are available at /episode/index/show/taxcast/id/37176195

How to spend 14 billion 05/29/2025

#153 Criminalising Journalists 04/29/2025

The Chinese Phantom 03/27/2025

The Chinese Phantom 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 and global insecurity? Also in this episode: the latest on efforts by powerful people to block the US's Corporate Transparency Act which was supposed to set up a register of the real owners of companies; And, in the UK - a new whistleblower incentive scheme - the tax authority HMRC will give whistleblowers who bring actionable information a cut of between 10 and 25% of any fine that HMRC imposes. Also, as the British government announces welfare cuts affecting the poorest people in the country, there are calls for a windfall tax on banks and a 2% wealth tax on assets above £10 million instead. Featuring: Panama Papers journalist Frederik Obermaier, Whistleblower lawyer Mary Inman, Erica Hanichak of the FACT Coalition, Hannah Dewhirst of Positive Money, Professor Prem Sikka. Produced by Naomi Fowler and Leo Schick of the Tax Justice Network. Transcript of the show: (some may be automated) Further reading: The Chinese Phantom, the Hunt for the World's Most Dangerous Arms Dealer. (Available in English and in German) Also available here but please try to use a local bookshop! Tax abuse whistleblowers will earn a share of HMRC proceeds, says UK Finance Minister Windfall tax on bank profits in the UK could raise £15bn How to raise £60 billion for public services: ten tax reforms from Tax Justice UK Millionaires urge MPs “tax us, the super-rich” to avoid cuts and invest in Britain All our podcasts are available on our podcast website /episode/index/show/taxcast/id/35893535

The Taxcast: trailer 03/05/2025

Ending US financial secrecy 02/27/2025

Ending US financial secrecy 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 Mouse with a shareholder Donald Duck and no one asked any questions." (Spoiler alert: there's still a long way to go) Guests include: and of the Financial Accountability and Corporate Transparency Coalition, Cynthia O'Murchu , Graham Barrow, financial crime sleuth and podcaster, campaigner and author Hosted and produced by , co-produced by Leo Schick. Transcript of this episode: Further reading: What is beneficial ownership? How to fix beneficial ownership frameworks, so they actually work Ownership Transparency Beneficial ownership registration around the world, 2022: US Judge Lifts Last Beneficial Ownership Roadblock Biden’s DOJ just asked the Supreme Court to do a huge favor for Donald Trump Supreme Court Allows Enforcement of Major Anti-Corruption Law to Resume, FACT Coalition: 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 The Corporate Transparency Act is Constitutional, Government and “Friend of the Court” Briefs Make Clear How overseas territories are being used to bypass UK transparency rules Owners of 53,000 properties still unknown Who paid £139 million for a Regent’s Park mansion? Nobody knows. How Do Judges Become Judges? Here Are Five Main Ways (US) /episode/index/show/taxcast/id/35472715

al-Assad and Guernsey 01/31/2025

al-Assad and Guernsey 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 Cobham of the Tax Justice Network Hosted and produced by , Tax Justice Network Transcript of the show is here (some is automated) Further reading: ‘Butcher of Hama’: Assad’s uncle used Guernsey fund manager to stash millions looted from Syria (Bureau of Investigative Journalism) Guernsey, country profile, Tax Justice Network Guernsey Financial Services Commission notice regarding Ginette Blondel The Guernsey finance worker, the alleged war criminal and a £210k fine - Bailiwick Express News Jersey Sentencing of Bashar Assad’s Uncle in France Exposes Bank’s AML Failure Assad uncle used Guernsey adviser to secretly manage vast wealth Former Syrian Vice President Rifaat al-Assad will stand trial in Switzerland on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity When will the British government impose public registries on its tax havens? Tax Justice Network blog from 2019 "The three Crown Dependencies have committed to introducing public registers. Guernsey, Jersey and the Isle of Man have private registers. However, in response to the 2022 ECJ ruling, in December 2022 the three governments said they would wait for legal advice before taking further steps." (House of Commons Library) Dear European Court of Justice, you were played, Tax Justice Network blog on 2022 European Court of Justice ruling Officer: GINETTE LOUISE BLONDEL, Data from Paradise Papers - Malta corporate registry Guernsey FSC Prohibitions and Disqualified Directors Trump demands countries surrender tax sovereignty at economic gunpoint, Tax Justice Network Countries should stand up to President Trump’s tax threat and continue working together to deliver a progressive global tax reform. Our website with all our podcasts is /episode/index/show/taxcast/id/35096615

$6.2 million banana 12/17/2024

Trump: All's Not Lost 11/28/2024

Three Big Wins 10/31/2024

Green laundering 09/26/2024

Crypto heists on trial 07/30/2024

The Black Tax 06/28/2024

The Black Tax 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 still today, taxes are both a problem in the US, but they're also the solution." Plus: the OECD ignores a formal letter from UN human rights experts raising concerns about the detrimental and discriminatory impacts on the Global South of OECD and G20 tax policy: "There has been no response. One way to describe it would be to say it's disappointing. Another way to describe it would say it's shocking and downright unacceptable." Transcript of the show: (some is automated) Further Reading: OECD tax reforms risk violating human rights law, UN experts warn in special intervention: Formal letter from UN Human Rights experts to the OECD raising human rights concerns over tax reforms: Litany of failure: new briefing sets out OECD’s manifold shortcomings in international tax talks: The Black Tax: 150 Years of Theft, Exploitation, and Dispossession in America by Andrew W. Kahrl: The living new deal: a website with a collection of all the public infrastructure, bridges, roads, swimming pools, community centres etc that were built during the 1930s and 40s: The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Souls of Black Folk, by W. E. B. Du Bois: All our podcasts are available with more information on and you can find all our other podcasts (all separate monthly productions in Arabic, French, Portuguese and Spanish) here /episode/index/show/taxcast/id/31930952

The Corrupting of Tax Justice 06/01/2024

Blockchain havens 04/30/2024

Crime DOES pay...? 03/28/2024

Taxing multinationals, unitary-style 02/29/2024

#139 People Power 01/26/2024

Introducing The Corruption Diaries 01/18/2024

#138 Overturning a 100 year legacy: the UN tax vote 12/18/2023

#138 Overturning a 100 year legacy: the UN tax vote In an extended Taxcast edition this month, a century of tax rule setting by the former imperial powers has been overturned: we look at the UN vote on global tax reform. Taxcast host Naomi Fowler follows events at the UN, the failed efforts to block it and explores what it all means with Alex Cobham of the Tax Justice Network. Featuring: of the Tax Justice Network UN representatives from Nigeria, South Africa, the Bahamas, the UK, the US, Spain, Russian Federation, Cameroon. Hosted by of the Tax Justice Network, produced by Naomi Fowler and Jo Barratt. Transcript available here: "If the time of crisis imposes the time of change, then it's time for cooperation to take precedence over competition. It's time for international solidarity to take precedence over particular and selfish interest in the short term. African people are tired of numbers about assistance for development. They do not request more assistance. They request every partner running business, the physical or digital, individuals and companies making profit should pay the right price, the fair and just percentage in terms of tax. Then we could keep our promise to transforming our world, to ensuring the world we want, the future we want is a reality." ~ UN Representative from Cameroon "It's a century waiting to have a globally inclusive body to set tax rules to throw over the decisions made by the League of Nations in the 1920s and 30s that we're all stuck with the consequences of today. We don't actually need tax rules that were set by the imperial powers, honestly, we can do better." ~ Alex Cobham, Tax Justice Network Further reading: The , Tax Justice Network , Tax Justice Network Follow developments on tax reform at the UN on the Tax Justice Network's live blog: from 's blog From Martin Hearson You can WATCH the vote at the UN (the discussion on tax matters starts around 35 minutes) More Taxcasts on /episode/index/show/taxcast/id/29135678

The People vs Microsoft 11/30/2023

Drug War Myths, Part 2 10/26/2023

Drug War Myths, Part 1 09/28/2023

Who owns the climate crisis? 07/27/2023

Spoiled pets and private jets 06/29/2023

Monopolies and market power 05/25/2023

Monopolies and market power When 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: of of the , , MEP and Competition lawyer of the Global Supply Chain Center, University of Southern California Produced and hosted by the Tax Justice Network's Transcript of the show: (some is automated) Further reading: Monopoly capitalism: What is it and how do we fight it? The 5 'R's of tax: Actually the fifth one needs adding (Reparations, or Repair) Resisting Monopoly Capitalism (Global Justice Now event in London, March 2023) Opening plenary Resisting Monopoly Capitalism - Closing plenary Pharmanomics: How Big Pharma Destroys Global Health (published October 2023) , an and event Corporate taxation to curb monopoly power: a brief history and a proposal Tax havens meet monopoly power: why national competitiveness harms competition 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 Reframing tax policy to reset the rules of the monopoly game To tackle corruption, start with monopoly power Nick Shaxson: Leaving the Tax Justice Network (setting up the Balanced Economy Project - the journey) For more information and podcasts go to our website: /episode/index/show/taxcast/id/26954175

Tax Saves Lives 05/01/2023

Organised crime and financial secrecy 02/23/2023

The Making of Tax Haven Mauritius 01/31/2023

The Taxcast

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