Episodes
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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: https://podcasts.taxjustice.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Transcript_Taxcast-June-2024.pdf (some is automated)
Further Reading:
OECD tax reforms risk violating human rights law, UN experts warn in special intervention:
https://taxjustice.net/press/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: https://spcommreports.ohchr.org/TMResultsBase/DownLoadPublicCommunicationFile?gId=28676
Litany of failure: new briefing sets out OECD’s manifold shortcomings in international tax talks: https://taxjustice.net/2024/05/28/litany-of-failure-new-briefing-sets-out-oecds-manifold-shortcomings-in-international-tax-talks/
The Black Tax: 150 Years of Theft, Exploitation, and Dispossession in America by Andrew W. Kahrl: https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/the-black-tax-150-years-of-theft-exploitation-and-dispossession-in-america-andrew-w-kahrl/7592145?ean=9780226730592
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: https://livingnewdeal.org/
The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Souls of Black Folk, by W. E. B. Du Bois: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/408/408-h/408-h.htm
All our podcasts are available with more information on https://podcasts.taxjustice.net/production/taxcast/ and you can find all our other podcasts (all separate monthly productions in Arabic, French, Portuguese and Spanish) here https://podcasts.taxjustice.net/
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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 the forces seeking to obstruct tax justice in the world?
Plus, we'll bring you the latest updates on historic negotiations between nations on a UN Tax Convention from a Tax Justice Network colleague who was in the room and gives us his impressions.
"There is a South cooperation and a South-South pushback against the developed countries. And that is a remarkable moment and it will change the tax world. There is no ignoring this anymore by the OECD countries."
"We need to see global cooperation from governments, clearly these tax advisor firms are operating across borders, they collaborate so I think we need to see tax authorities and governments doing similar."
Further resources:
Transcript of this epsiode (some is automated, so not 100% accurate) https://podcasts.taxjustice.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Transcript_Taxcast-May-2024_-the-corrupting-of-tax-justice.pdf
The People vs Microsoft (previous Taxcast #137) https://podcasts.taxjustice.net/episode/137-the-people-vs-microsoft/
PwC: a calculated breach of trust (Australian) Senate Finance and Public Administration References Committee report https://apo.org.au/node/323246
Live rolling Tax Justice Network blog with regular updates on progress on negotiations at the UN https://taxjustice.net/2024/04/25/%f0%9f%94%b4live-un-tax-negotiations/
What happened at the first round of UN tax negotiations and what’s next? https://taxjustice.net/2024/05/17/what-happened-at-the-first-round-of-un-tax-negotiations-and-whats-next/
Litany of failure: new briefing sets out OECD’s manifold shortcomings in international tax talks https://taxjustice.net/2024/05/28/litany-of-failure-new-briefing-sets-out-oecds-manifold-shortcomings-in-international-tax-talks/
Our website with all previous Taxcasts https://podcasts.taxjustice.net/production/taxcast/
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Missing episodes?
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"This will supersede them all." Offshore specialist and human rights lawyer Paul Beckett of Corlett Bolton & Co sounds the alarm on the fast development of 'blockchain havens.'
The Tax Justice Network's Bob Michel speaks about the challenges regulators, anti-corruption campaigners and poorer nations face.
A transcript of the podcast is available here: https://podcasts.taxjustice.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Blockchain-havens-transcript-2.pdf
Further reading/resources:
Paul Beckett's book: An Anatomy of Tax Havens: Europe, the Caribbean and the United States of America https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783110985108/html Beneficial Ownership and Legal Responsibility: Concealment, Avoidance and Impunity, also by Paul Beckett https://www.routledge.com/Beneficial-Ownership-and-Legal-Responsibility-Concealment-Avoidance-and-Impunity/Beckett/p/book/9781032537603 Offshoring DAO Foundations: Top Legal Considerations https://dilendorf.com/resources/offshoring-dao-foundations-top-legal-considerations.htmlYou can find all previous Taxcasts on the Taxcast website: https://podcasts.taxjustice.net/production/taxcast/
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Crime doesn't pay - or does it?! Taxcast host Naomi Fowler talks to former police investigator, asset recovery specialist and co-author of The War on Dirty Money Tristram Hicks 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 Alex Cobham 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 they didn't - why?
A transcript of the show is available here: (some is automated)
https://taxjustice.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Taxcast-March-2024-Transcript.pdf
Further reading:
The War on Dirty Money, by Tristram Hicks and Nicholas Gilmour
Dirty Money: Tristram Hicks on Substack
UN agrees plan for wealth tax law blueprint https://taxjustice.net/press/un-agrees-plan-for-wealth-tax-law-blueprint/
The Tax Justice Network hails a breakthrough in corporate tax transparency https://taxjustice.net/press/tax-justice-network-hails-a-major-breakthrough-in-corporate-tax-transparency/
The country by country reporting path to global justice https://taxjustice.net/events/the-country-by-country-path-to-global-justice/
The FT confirms the OECD lobbied against Australian tax transparency
https://taxjustice.net/press/ft-confirms-oecd-lobbied-against-australian-tax-transparency/The investor case for public country by country tax reporting https://thefactcoalition.org/report/a-material-concern-the-investor-case-for-public-country-by-country-tax-reporting/
Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 https://www.ukciu.gov.uk/(xwxqxm55yk5tzxbr0dznv2en)/Information/info.aspx?InfoSection=Legislation
HMRC/UK tax authority staff paying for themselves many times over https://www.taxjustice.uk/tax-takes-6.html
Our website with all our podcasts is https://podcasts.taxjustice.net/
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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 BEPS Monitoring Group and Tax Justice Network special advisor Sol Picciotto.
Plus: the return of our analysis slot - Taxcast host Naomi Fowler talks to Zorka Milin of the FACT Coalition 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: https://podcasts.taxjustice.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Feb-2024-Taxcast-Transcript.pdf
Guests:
Alison Shultz, Tax Justice Network Zorka Milin, FACT Coalition Sol Picciotto, veteran tax justice champion, emeritus professor of law, coordinator of the BEPS Monitoring Group which analyzes efforts to tackle profit shifting by multinationals, and Tax Justice Network senior advisor Produced and presented by Naomi Fowler of the Tax Justice Network.Further reading:
Beneficial Ownership Reporting Begins Under Corporate Transparency Act: https://thefactcoalition.org/u-s-beneficial-ownership-reporting-begins-groundbreaking-anti-bribery-bill-signed-into-law-just-the-facts-1-8-24/
Roadmap to Effective Beneficial Ownership Transparency (Tax Justice Network) https://taxjustice.net/2023/02/07/roadmap-to-effective-beneficial-ownership-transparency-rebot/
Charles Littlejohn pleads guilty to one count of disclosing tax return information https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-68131435
The Secret IRS Files: Trove of Never-Before-Seen Records Reveal How the Wealthiest Avoid Income Tax (ProPublica) https://www.propublica.org/article/the-secret-irs-files-trove-of-never-before-seen-records-reveal-how-the-wealthiest-avoid-income-tax
Former Freshfields partner sentenced to jail for German tax fraud https://www.reuters.com/markets/europe/ex-freshfields-partner-gets-35-year-sentence-german-tax-fraud-2024-01-30/
Ex-Freshfields lawyer convicted over tax fraud received €2mn severance pay (FT paywall) https://www.ft.com/content/28fc06cb-b9db-4af4-a854-297c3ba5b4e4
Beyond the Two Pillar Proposals. A Simplified Approach for Taxing Multinationals https://www.southcentre.int/tax-cooperation-policy-brief-no-36-26-october-2023/
BEPS Monitoring Group: https://www.bepsmonitoringgroup.org/
Our website with further information and more podcasts: https://podcasts.taxjustice.net/
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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 International Budget Partnership.
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 here.
Transcript of the show: https://taxjustice.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Taxcast_transcript_Jan_2024.pdf (Some is automated)
Guests:
Robert Chiwamba, Malawian poet and Senior Tax Investigations Officer (his youtube site is here, WATCH him performing his poem We Will Count Them https://youtu.be/V95_Yd8Dfhs )
Greg Leroy of Good Jobs First
Paolo de Renzio, formerly Senior Research Fellow with the International Budget Partnership, now Senior Lecturer at the Brazilian School of Public and Business Administration of Fundação Getúlio Vargas in Rio de Janeiro.
Produced and presented by Naomi Fowler of the Tax Justice Network.
Further reading:
A Taxing Journey: How Civic Actors Influence Tax Policy (open access – free pdf from International Budget Partnership https://www.bloomsburycollections.com/monograph?docid=b-9781350344648 and a summary paper on that work here: https://internationalbudget.org/publications/a-taxing-journey-how-civic-actors-influence-tax-policy/
Beneficial Ownership reporting begins in the US: https://thefactcoalition.org/u-s-beneficial-ownership-reporting-begins-groundbreaking-anti-bribery-bill-signed-into-law-just-the-facts-1-8-24/
Proud to Pay More: 260+ millionaires and billionaires from 17 countries ask governments to tax them more https://proudtopaymore.org/
The EU Court ruling on Beneficial Ownership registries in 2022 https://taxjustice.net/press/eu-court-returns-eu-to-dark-ages-of-dirty-money/
A Tax Justice Network report on how to fix beneficial ownership frameworks https://taxjustice.net/2023/12/20/new-report-on-how-to-fix-beneficial-ownership-frameworks-so-they-actually-work/
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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 Lockheed Aircraft’s overseas bribes - Jack was there.
Every Wednesday we'll release a new episode. Don't miss it! Subscribe on your podcast app: https://pod.link/1721797109
The Corruption Diaries is produced by Naomi Fowler and Jo Barratt of the Tax Justice Network. Interviews with Jack Blum were recorded over several days at Jack’s home in Maryland by journalist Zoe Sullivan.
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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:
Alex Cobham of the Tax Justice Network
UN representatives from Nigeria, South Africa, the Bahamas, the UK, the US, Spain, Russian Federation, Cameroon.
Hosted by Naomi Fowler of the Tax Justice Network, produced by Naomi Fowler and Jo Barratt.
Transcript available here: https://taxjustice.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/TRANSCRIPT_Taxcast_Dec_23.pdf
"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 UN adopts plans for historic tax reform, Tax Justice Network
“No” voters on UN tax reform enable 75% of global tax abuse, Tax Justice Network
Follow developments on tax reform at the UN on the Tax Justice Network's live blog: Road to UN vote on global tax reform
Decolonising the International Tax System from Fadhel Kaboub's blog
A new UN Tax convention – how will it change global tax governance? From Martin Hearson
You can WATCH the vote at the UN here (the discussion on tax matters starts around 35 minutes)
More Taxcasts on https://www.thetaxcast.com
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On the Taxcast this month, the story of what happened when the US tax authorities, the IRS, decided to crack down on Microsoft, one of the world's biggest tech companies. Worthy of a thriller movie with its twists and turns, there are many lessons for governments worldwide. And it's not over yet.
Featuring:
Zorka Milin of the Financial Accountability and Corporate Transparency Coalition Paul Kiel of ProPublica Samantha Jacoby of the Centre on Budget and Policy Priorities Andrew Leigh, MP and Australian Treasury Alex Cobham of the Tax Justice Network Hosted and produced by Naomi Fowler of the Tax Justice NetworkTranscript (some is automated) https://taxjustice.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Transcript_Taxcast_Nov_23.pdf
Further reading:
How a slick accounting maneuver led to a $29 billion tax bill for Microsoft https://fortune.com/2023/10/13/microsoft-back-taxes-irs-29-billion-propublica/
The IRS Decided to Get Tough Against Microsoft. Microsoft Got Tougher https://www.propublica.org/article/the-irs-decided-to-get-tough-against-microsoft-microsoft-got-tougher
What the Microsoft Tax Case Shows Us About Tax Transparency https://thefactcoalition.org/what-the-microsoft-tax-case-shows-us-about-tax-transparency/#:~:text=They%20had%20negotiated%20a%2015,Puerto%20Rico%20and%20the%20US.
FT confirms OECD lobbied against Australian tax transparency https://taxjustice.net/press/ft-confirms-oecd-lobbied-against-australian-tax-transparency/#:~:text=The%20law%20requires%20multinationals%20operating,tool%20for%20accountability%20and%20deterrence.
Microsoft, Cisco Shareholder Votes Demonstrate Increasing Investor Demand for Tax and Offshore Transparency https://thefactcoalition.org/microsoft-cisco-shareholder-votes-demonstrate-increasing-investor-demand-for-tax-and-offshore-transparency/
KPMG's pitch to Microsoft: 'Planning Alternatives in Puerto Rico' https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/6556275-KPMG-2004-Pitch-to-Microsoft.html and Microsoft 2003 Memo on Puerto Rico Factory https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/6556274-Microsoft-2003-Memo-on-Puerto-Rico-Factory.html
Bipartisan Senate Action Passes Minimal Test for IRS Funding While Multiple House Republican Bills Fail https://www.cbpp.org/research/federal-budget/bipartisan-senate-action-passes-minimal-test-for-irs-funding-while-multiple
Revenue From BBB’s IRS Enforcement Funding Would Support Investments https://www.cbpp.org/blog/revenue-from-bbbs-irs-enforcement-funding-would-support-investments
UN adopts plans for historic tax reform https://taxjustice.net/press/un-adopts-plans-for-historic-tax-reform/
“No” voters on UN tax reform enable 75% of global tax abuse https://taxjustice.net/press/no-voters-on-un-tax-reform-enable-75-of-global-tax-abuse/
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The US government has spent an estimated $1 trillion on their ‘war on drugs.’ But over 50 years later, the cross-border flows of illegal drugs, arms and money have increased. In the second part of a two part series, we look at the failed so-called ‘war on drugs’ - the movement to decriminalise, regulate and tax - opportunities, challenges for lower income nations, and the role of tax justice.
Featuring:
Associate Professor of International and Organised Crime at Bristol Law School, Dr Mary Young
Zara Snapp, co-founder of Instituto RIA
Sergio Chaparro Hernandez of the Tax Justice Network
Martin Drewry of Health Poverty Action
Max Gallien of the International Centre for Tax and Development and the Institute of Development Studies at the University of Sussex
Eric Gutierrez, of the International Centre of Human Rights and Drug Policy
Taxcast host Naomi Fowler, co-produced with Jo Barratt of the Tax Justice Network
A transcript of the show available here: (some is automated) https://taxjustice.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/The-Taxcast_Transcript_Oct_23.pdf
Further reading:
Invest in Justice, Jamaica Case Study https://www.investinjustice.net
Cannabis taxation – A new revenue source for development? https://www.ictd.ac/blog/cannabis-taxation-revenue-development/ Max Gallien and Giovanni Occhiali
Diverse models of legalisation https://newleftreview.org/sidecar/posts/high-income
Inside Mexico’s war on drugs: Conversations with ‘el narco’ https://theconversation.com/inside-mexicos-war-on-drugs-conversations-with-el-narco-129865
Poverty, gender and violence in the narratives of former narcos: accounting for drug trafficking violence in Mexico (Karina Garcia-Reyes) https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/ws/portalfiles/portal/193726176/Final_Copy_2018_11_06_Garcia_K_G_PhD_Redacted.pdf
Debunking the Narco Myth: https://www.mexicoviolence.org/post/debunking-the-narco-myth
A world fit for money laundering: The Atlantic alliance’s undermining of organised crime control: Young, Mary Alice; Woodiwiss, Michael https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/5935899
Organised crime and security threats in Caribbean Small Island Developing States: A Critical analysis of US assumptions and policies: Young, Mary; Woodiwiss, Michael https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/849208
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The US government has spent an estimated $1 trillion on their 'war on drugs.' But, over more than 50 years, the cross-border flows of illegal drugs, arms and money have increased. It's a mess. And it didn't need to be this way. We look at the failed so-called 'war on drugs' and how to stop wasting precious lives. In part one of a two part series, we start with the supposed 'goodies' and the 'baddies.'
Featuring:
Criminology lecturer Karina Garcia-Reyes of the University of the West of England, author of Morir Es Un Alivio (Dying is a Relief) Las Reveladoras Historias De 12 Ex-narcos Que Lograron Escapar Del Crimen Organizado. Available in Spanish here https://www.amazon.co.uk/Morir-alivio-Dying-Relief-Reveladoras/dp/6070777298/ref=sr_1_1?crid=SC60TMBCGZVM&keywords=morir+es+un+alivio&qid=1674560099&sprefix=morir+es+un+alivio%2Caps%2C64&sr=8-1
Eric Gutierrez, of the International Centre of Human Rights and Drug Policy https://www.hr-dp.org/contents/1620
Associate Professor of International and Organised Crime at Bristol Law School, Dr Mary Young https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Mary-Young-13
Further Reading:
Inside Mexico’s war on drugs: Conversations with ‘el narco’ https://theconversation.com/inside-mexicos-war-on-drugs-conversations-with-el-narco-129865
Poverty, gender and violence in the narratives of former narcos: accounting for drug trafficking violence in Mexico (Karina Garcia-Reyes) https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/ws/portalfiles/portal/193726176/Final_Copy_2018_11_06_Garcia_K_G_PhD_Redacted.pdf
Debunking the Narco Myth https://www.mexicoviolence.org/post/debunking-the-narco-myth
A world fit for money laundering: The Atlantic alliance’s undermining of organised crime control: Young, Mary Alice; Woodiwiss, Michael https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/5935899
Organised crime and security threats in Caribbean Small Island Developing States: A Critical analysis of US assumptions and policies: Young, Mary; Woodiwiss, Michael
https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/849208More podcasts are available on our website https://www.thetaxcast.com where you can also subscribe.
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We're experiencing the hottest global temperatures ever recorded. For millions of us, the climate crisis is already hitting hard. And we need to know, we must know - WHO are the beneficial owners of the climate crisis? It's surprisingly difficult to find out...
Featuring:
Franziska Mager, Senior Researcher and Advocacy Lead (Climate & Inequalities), Tax Justice Network
Dario Kenner, Visiting Research Fellow at the University of Sussex and author of the book Carbon Inequality
Victor Galaz of the Stockholm Resilience Centre
Peter Ringstad of Tax Justice Norway
Andres Knobel, Lead Researcher (Beneficial Ownership), Tax Justice Network
George Monbiot, Environmental campaigner and journalist
Kenya's President William Ruto
Hosted and produced by Naomi Fowler of the Tax Justice NetworkTranscript of the show (some is automated) https://taxjustice.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Transcript_Taxcast_July_23.pdf
All the Taxcasts are available here where you can also subscribe: https://www.thetaxcast.com
Further reading:
Beneficial ownership and fossil fuels: lifting the lid on who benefits: https://taxjustice.net/2023/06/30/beneficial-ownership-and-fossil-fuels-lifting-the-lid-on-who-benefits/
Delivering climate justice using the principles of tax justice: a guide for climate justice advocates https://taxjustice.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Policy-brief-climate-justice_2206.pdf
Carbon Majors Report: https://cdn.cdp.net/cdp-production/cms/reports/documents/000/002/327/original/Carbon-Majors-Report-2017.pdf
Links to Dario Kenner's work: The Polluter Elite Database: https://whygreeneconomy.org/the-polluter-elite-database/
Carbon Inequality: the role of the richest in climate change https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/carbon-inequality-the-role-of-the-richest-in-climate-change-dario-kenner/2920056?ean=9780367727666
Lobbying and other tactics of big oil companies to delay the transition away from fossil fuels https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2021.102049Why we need to look at how global oil and gas industry lobbies G20 governments and how this is slowing progress https://www.climatechangenews.com/2021/11/16/oil-gas-avoided-censure-glasgow-26th-time-lets-not-make-27/
Post-war reconstruction involved taxing the richest: https://theconversation.com/post-war-reconstruction-involved-taxing-richest-it-could-be-a-model-for-building-a-low-carbon-economy-137717White knights, or horsemen of the apocalypse? Prospects for Big Oil to align emissions with a 1.5 °C pathway https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214629621001420
Carbon Billionaires, Oxfam report: https://policy-practice.oxfam.org/resources/carbon-billionaires-the-investment-emissions-of-the-worlds-richest-people-621446/
Cereal crops decimated by Europe's heatwave https://www.thegrocer.co.uk/sourcing/cereal-crops-decimated-by-europes-heatwave/681361.article
"I thought fossil fuel firms could change. I was wrong" https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2023/7/6/i-thought-fossil-fuel-firms-could-change-i-was-wrong
Stockholm Resilience Centre, the hidden environmental consequences of tax havens https://www.stockholmresilience.org/research/research-news/2018-08-13-the-hidden-environmental-consequences-of-tax-havens.html
New study raises red flags on tax haven role in environmental destruction https://www.icij.org/inside-icij/2018/08/new-study-raises-red-flags-on-tax-haven-role-in-environmental-destruction/
New data exposes the links between tax havens, deforestation and illegal fishing https://www.su.se/english/archive-news/research-news-archive/new-data-exposes-the-links-between-tax-havens-deforestation-and-illegal-fishing-1.396018
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In this episode Naomi Fowler looks at how the very wealthy shape the world, why the rest of us really, really can't afford them. And, how it never ends just with the pet mansions and the cashmere-lined private jets, as the fascinating story of the EU Court of Justice ruling (reversing progress on public registers of beneficial owners of companies) demonstrates...But, there's plenty we can do about it!
Featuring:
Florencia Lorenzo of the Tax Justice Network Mark Bou Mansour of the Tax Justice Network Brooke Harrington, Professor of economic sociology and wealth manager anthropologist Luc Caregari, journalist at https://www.reporter.lu in Luxembourg Also featuring: spoiled dogs, private jet business colleagues, a disillusioned youtube jet entrepreneur, a new jet owner and his excited friend, Kim Kardashian, Paris Hilton (plus her dogs and a reporter), a millionaire who's ditching his jet, author of 'How Bad Are Bananas?' Professor Mike Berners Lee, Dun & Bradstreet youtube briefing Produced and hosted by Naomi Fowler, Tax Justice NetworkHere's a transcript of the show (some is automated) https://taxjustice.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/The-Taxcast_transcript_June_2023.pdf
Further reading and viewing:
Launching the Tax Justice Network's new climate initiative (there'll be more on this soon) https://taxjustice.net/2023/06/22/launching-the-tax-justice-networks-new-climate-initiative/ How to stop Russian Oligarchs in Their Tracks, from the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists https://www.icij.org/investigations/russia-archive/analysis-of-icij-data-shows-how-to-stop-russian-oligarchs-in-their-tracks/ Brooke Harrington speaks at Follow the Money – War, Climate and Tax Havens, a Tax Justice Norway event: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=waY73LOEOUg Brooke Harrington interview on Offshore Wealth as a Complex System: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WiOzQryvd4 Complex systems of secrecy: the offshore networks of oligarchs, by Ho-Chun Herbert Chang, Brooke Harrington, Feng Fu, Daniel N Rockmore: https://academic.oup.com/pnasnexus/article/2/3/pgad051/7059318 This Luxembourg Businessman got Europe's Public Corporate Registries Shut Down: but whose privacy was he protecting? By Dragana Peco (OCCRP/KRIK), Alina Tsogoeva (OCCRP), Antonio Baquero (OCCRP), Tom Stocks (OCCRP), Luc Caregari (Reporter.lu), and Carina Huppertz (Paper Trail Media/Der Spiegel) https://www.occrp.org/en/beneficial-ownership-data-is-critical-in-the-fight-against-corruption/this-luxembourg-businessman-got-europes-corporate-registries-shut-down-but-whose-privacy-was-he-protecting Comparing the carbon footprint of private jets to owning pets is a waste of time: https://inews.co.uk/news/comparing-carbon-footprint-private-jets-owning-pets-waste-time-2373116 Mishcon de Reya to continue to act for Russian clients, from Law.com International (pay wall) https://www.law.com/international-edition/2022/03/04/mishcon-de-reya-to-maintain-russian-vip-service/ -
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:
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 FowlerTranscript 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
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It's horrific that there are so many people across the world who still don’t have access to ‘survival rights.’ Things like basic sanitation, clean water, quality education, decent healthcare so that mothers can survive childbirth - and so their children can even survive their childhood! This is where tax justice gets the most urgent, because tax literally saves lives. And we're going to prove it to you.
In this Taxcast edition, host Naomi Fowler talks to people who’ve looked at new data that demonstrates this. We wish every CEO, every company board member, every shareholder and every government minister in the world would read this report. Then look us in the eye and tell us why they’re not moving every muscle in their body to do what is in their power to protect people, mothers and children. Because when they don’t, they do have blood on their hands.
A transcript of the show is available here: https://taxjustice.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Taxcast_April-2023_Transcript.pdf
Featuring:
Eilish Hannah, University of St Andrews Alex Cobham, Tax Justice Network Rachel Etter-Phoya, Tax Justice Network Hosted and produced by Naomi Fowler, Tax Justice NetworkMore information and further reading available on our website https://www.thetaxcast.com
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After 30 years on the run, Italy's most wanted fugitive Matteo Messina Denaro of the Cosa Nostra has been arrested in Sicily. We look at the costs of organised crime, both economic and societal, the contagion that financial secrecy facilitates, and how to reverse the rot.
Secrecy jurisdictions and tax havens have made it possible for mafiosi to progress from crossing physical borders with bank notes stuffed in suitcases, to being able to pour unlimited amounts of money into the financial system. Dirty money in, ‘clean’ money out. That money destabilises economies and corrupts democracies, while organised crime toxifies societies. The problem is that financial secrecy and tax havens are also the friend of commerce, multinationals and wealthy, powerful people worldwide...
Featuring:
Professor of Criminology, Federico Varese
Journalist, Stefano Vergine
Surgeon in Malta and opinon piece writer, Kevin Cassar
Hosted and produced by Naomi Fowler of the Tax Justice Network
Transcript available here: https://taxjustice.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Taxcast_Transcript_Feb_2023.pdf (Some is automated)
Our website (with links to further reading) is available here: https://www.thetaxcast.com
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In this extended special episode of the Taxcast, we look at the 'Desai Papers' - the story you probably never heard of: it goes back decades and looks at a key player in the making of tax haven Mauritius that's been hurting Indians and Africans ever since.
We speak with a whistleblower and the journalist who broke the story. Is the Indian government investigating? What does the story tell us about the global economy?
Transcript available here (some is automated) https://taxjustice.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/The-Taxcast-Transcript-Jan-2023.pdf
Our website is https:///www.thetaxcast.com
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There's been a shift in global power, a tax justice milestone, and the powerful nations couldn't stop it...
In this episode, Naomi Fowler gives you a fly-on-the-wall take on what happened at the United Nations on November 24th 2022. We look at the power plays around a fundamental global power shift - the beginning of the end of the OECD’s 60 year reign as the world’s leading rule-maker on global tax.
Featuring:
Alex Cobham of the Tax Justice Network
Rachel Etter-Phoya of the Tax Justice Network
The UN Chairperson, UN Secretary and UN representatives of Nigeria, South Africa, the United States, the United Kingdom, Singapore, Liechtenstein, Republic of Korea, and Eritrea.
Produced and hosted by the Tax Justice Network's Naomi Fowler.
Transcript (some is automated) https://taxjustice.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/The-Taxcast_Transcript_Dec_22.pdf
WATCH this historic UN meeting here (starts about 20 minutes in): https://media.un.org/en/asset/k1b/k1bummpe5z
Further reading:
https://taxjustice.net/2022/11/22/%f0%9f%94%b4-live-blog-un-vote-on-new-tax-leadership-role/
https://taxjustice.net/2022/12/15/un-resolution-for-an-intergovernmental-tax-framework-what-does-it-mean-and-whats-next/
https://taxjustice.net/press/un-adopts-historic-decision-to-take-on-new-tax-leadership/
https://taxjustice.net/press/un-secretary-general-signals-support-for-un-tax-convention/
Our podcast website is https://www.thetaxcast.com
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In this episode, Taxcast host Naomi Fowler discusses sovereignty, the 'boomerang effect' and the relevance of the 'Third World Movement' today to our global economic system, with Dr Kojo Koram, author of Uncommon Wealth: Britain and the Aftermath of Empire. "Decolonisation, from the 1950s and 1970s, was quite simply the greatest multiplication of democratic power that the world has ever seen"
Plus, we look at two big failures this month:
the collapse of crypto exchange company FTX (secrecy jurisdictions, enablers, investigations...) the Tax Justice Network writes an open letter to alert the G20 to the failings of the OECD as global tax rule-setter, as they miss another deadline.A transcript of the podcast is available here: (Some is automated) https://taxjustice.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/The-Taxcast-transcript-Nov-22-1.pdf
"The kind of loss of feeling of control in the United Kingdom, that loss of feeling of sovereignty, that loss of feeling of democratic accountability is connected to the erosion of sovereignty and erosion of democratic accountability that was allowed to happen to the former colonies of particularly the British Empire but all empires. What happens in the colonies doesn't simply stay there, but it comes back on the homeland and it starts to impact how its economy, its society, and its politics operates. And I think that's a lot of what we see in Britain right up until today.”
Featuring:
Dr Kojo Koram of Birkbeck, University of London and author of Uncommon Wealth: Britain and the Aftermath of Empire. Alex Cobham, Tax Justice Network Professor Nouriel Roubini speaking in the UAE Taxcast host and producer, Naomi Fowler, Tax Justice NetworkFurther reading:
Kojo Koram's book Uncommon Wealth: Britain and the Aftermath of Empire is published by John Murray Press: https://uk.bookshop.org/books/uncommon-wealth-britain-and-the-aftermath-of-empire/9781529338621 Governments can recover billions from tax havens by publishing withheld transparency data https://taxjustice.net/press/governments-can-recover-billions-from-tax-havens-by-publishing-withheld-transparency-data/ UN Secretary General signals support for UN tax convention: https://taxjustice.net/press/un-secretary-general-signals-support-for-un-tax-convention/ Tax Justice Network's Open letter to G20 on OECD failure to deliver on G20 mandates https://taxjustice.net/2022/11/15/open-letter-to-g20-oecd-failure-to-deliver-on-g20-mandates/ Why Didn't the Government Stop the Crypto Scam? by Matt Stoller: https://mattstoller.substack.com/p/why-didnt-the-government-stop-the The World Series of Crypto Rackets, by Judd Legum: https://t.co/wEh4TihGYz Seven politicians are returning FTX's tainted money — others are keeping quiet, by Judd Legum and Rebecca Crosby: https://popular.info/p/seven-politicians-are-returning-ftxsWATCH ~ BOOMERANG: Empire and Britain's economy (featuring Kojo Koram): https://youtu.be/kmOK4tNc31A
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In this episode: Nelson Mandela famously said, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” Yet millions of children in the world still don’t even get to walk through the school door. This month on the Taxcast host Naomi Fowler looks at education and tax justice. The challenges, and the ways forward.
Plus, we explore two important developments which really pushes forward steps towards a UN Tax Convention: the economic commission for Africa, the declaration of their finance ministers calling for the UN to begin negotiations on the convention (that's more than a quarter of the member countries of the United Nations) plus the head of the United Nations has pledged his support for negotiations. How will wealthier nations, who are too often the world's worst offenders for draining tax revenue from other nations, now respond?
Transcript: (some is automated) https://taxjustice.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/The-Taxcast_Oct_22_Transcript.pdf
For more information and more Taxcasts, go to https://www.thetaxcast.com
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