The leader of Italy's far right Lega Nord has described the potential coalition with the populist five star movement (M5S) as a 'bomb' for Italy's political establishment. It certainly will be a bomb for tax justice, Italy's public services and economic and social equality in Italy. Two of the … [Read more...]
Policy
Guest blog: Tax incentives – common ground between business and civil society?
Tax incentives - common ground between business and civil society By Oliver Pearce, Oxfam Tax Policy Advisor Tax is a highly contested issue, but there is more common ground than might be thought. A new paper published by the Confederation of British Business (CBI) and development NGOs Action … [Read more...]
OECD rules vs CRS avoidance strategies: not bad, but short of teeth and too dependent on good faith
The OECD's Model Mandatory Disclosure rules for CRS avoidance strategies are not bad in our opinion, but short of teeth and far too dependent on good faith by rogue intermediaries and taxpayers... On March 9th, 2018 the OECD published the Model Mandatory Disclosure Rules for CRS Avoidance … [Read more...]
Regulation of Beneficial Ownership in Latin America and the Caribbean
My paper - Andres Knobel - on “Regulation of Beneficial Ownership in Latin America and the Caribbean” which I wrote for the Inter-American Development Bank is now available in Spanish and English here. The paper, published in November 2017, provides an explanation on the concept, obstacles and … [Read more...]
Welcome oligarchs, erode democracy: our March 2018 podcast
In this month's Taxcast: They say history is written by the victors. So how can we rethink the way we use words about tax havens that reflect the reality of what's really happening? We talk to Alain Deneault about his new book in which he writes about ‘laundering with language’ - Legalising Theft: a … [Read more...]
Now you see me, now you don’t: using citizenship and residency by investment to avoid automatic exchange of banking information
On February 19th, the OECD launched a consultation entitled “Preventing abuse of residence by investment schemes to circumvent the CRS”. It was about time. Since 2014, we have written several papers and blogs (here, here, here, here and here) explaining how residency and citizenship schemes offered … [Read more...]
Video: discussion on tax revenue losses, Apple’s tax avoidance and ‘state aid’
We're sharing here the opening panel discussion of the June 2017 European Financial Congress, Eastern Europe's largest finance congress in Gdansk, Poland. The theme of the panel was "Tax solidarity in the world and in the EU" and it features visiting Professor at Oxford University Philip Baker QC … [Read more...]
Bring in new tax to curb avoidance by multinationals: new report
A new report out today by Grace Blakeley from the progressive policy think tank IPPR argues for a re-balancing of the business taxation system. Titled Fair dues: Rebalancing business taxation in the UK, the report proposes: a series of reforms aimed at achieving a fairer burden of taxation between … [Read more...]
Guest blog: Stopping public contracts for tax cheats
We're pleased to share this important blog from the Fair Tax Mark's Chief Executive Paul Monaghan, orginally posted here. The Fair Tax Mark's inception was supported by the Tax Justice Network and it continues to do great work. As Ed Mayo, Secretary General of Co-operatives UK summarises very … [Read more...]
New report: ‘Hybrid Mismatches in Israel’
Tax Justice Network Israel (TJN IL), in cooperation with Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, has published a new report on ‘Hybrid Mismatches in Israel’. The term "hybrid mismatches" refers to discrepancies in the tax laws of two or more independent tax jurisdictions or territories in relation to the … [Read more...]
Trusts and the UK: half a step forward, three steps backwards
Remember our paper calling for the registration of trusts? Back then the British government opposed this. During discussions related to the EU 4th Anti-Money Laundering Directive, Treasury spokesperson Lord Newby even said: “We consider registration of trusts to be a disproportionate approach and, … [Read more...]
US tax reform and conflicts with international law: guest blog
The US tax bill will be published on Friday 15th December 2017 and will be voted on by Congress early next week. Senior Policy Advisor Didier Jacobs at Oxfam America has written this blog: The Exceptionalist Tax Bill The United States Congress is about to adopt a major tax reform that reflects … [Read more...]
Indian cess taxes: A call for accountability (Guest blog)
This piece is about cess taxes levied by the current government in India written for us by Ashrita Prasad Kotha, Assistant Professor at Jindal Global Law School whose work on ‘Cesses in the Indian Tax Regime: A Historical Analysis’ has been published as a book chapter in Studies in the History of … [Read more...]
#ParadisePapers: The Mauritian Connection
What do Angola’s sovereign wealth fund, the cast of British TV show Mrs Brown’s Boys, and Yale University’s investment in India have in common? The Paradise Papers reveal that they are all connected with offshore secrecy jurisdiction Mauritius, with the assistance of offshore law firm … [Read more...]
Our paper “Trusts: Weapons of Mass Injustice?” – now available in Spanish
Our paper "Trusts: Weapons of Mass Injustice?" which we released and blogged about earlier this year is now available in Spanish. The English version of the paper is available here. The paper provoked critical attention from practitioners and from tax havens. Our response to their critiques is here … [Read more...]