In our 50th Taxcast edition: which country is the second easiest in the world after Kenya to set up an anonymous shell company? We shine the spotlight on tax haven USA and the lawyers secretly filmed by Global Witness advising a fake corrupt African government Minister. Also: we discuss Google’s tiny tax payment in the UK and how politicians are interfering with the independence of our tax authorities, and the rise of the unnoticed tax haven of Taiwan. Plus more scandal and analysis featuring Eryn Schornick of Global Witness, Clark Gascoigne of the Financial Accountability and Corporate Transparency (FACT) Coalition, John Christensen and Markus Meinzer of the Tax Justice Network, the voices of some (now shamefaced) New York lawyers. Produced and presented by Naomi Fowler for the Tax Justice Network.
“If I were corrupt foreign official I’d be looking to the United States…The rest of the world is leaping ahead of the United States in tax transparency stuff and the United States is continuing to go it alone.”
Clark Gascoigne, Financial Accountability and Corporate Transparency (FACT) Coalition
The United States is “so hostile to moving anywhere nearer, you know, full-fledged membership of international community and it’s geared towards US first, US interest alone and above everyone else’s.”
Markus Meinzer, Tax Justice Network“I regret to say this, I really do, we cannot trust the tax authorities any longer to act in the public interest, it is quite clear that as a result of of political lobbying and state capture that the politicians in many countries…can no longer be trusted to not interfere constantly with the supposedly independent tax authorities”
John Christensen, Tax Justice Network
Watch the videos in full and learn about Global Witness’s undercover sting here.
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