The Taxcast

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 transparencyhttps://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/

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, TaxJustice Network
• Zorka Milin,FACT Coalition
• Sol Picciotto, veteran tax justice champion, emeritus professor of law, coordinator of theBEPS Monitoring Groupwhich analyzes efforts to tackle profit shifting by multinationals, andTax Justice Network senior advisor
• Produced and presented byNaomi 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/

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-9781350344648and 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/

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.

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

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 Network

Transcript (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/

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 theInternational 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

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/849208

More podcasts are available on our websitehttps://www.thetaxcast.com where you can also subscribe.

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 Network

Transcript 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.2021.102049

Why 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-137717

White 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

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 Network

Here'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/