#17 Lord of War: how secrecy kills - Tax Justice Network podcasts

#149 $6.2 million banana

A world where someone pays $6.2 million for a banana duct-taped to a wall is a world that needs wealth taxes. But unsubstantiated spin and myth making dominates the debate. We look at the Tax Justice Network's modest wealth tax proposal which could help governments increase their national budgets by 7 percent a year, a potential global revenue of more than 2 trillion US dollars annually. And we discuss what research really says about so-called 'tax flight' by the very wealthy because of tax reforms.

Nov 29

#148 Trump: All's Not Lost

What are the implications of Donald Trump's election victory for tax justice and the anti-corruption fight, not just in the US but globally? We see a moment of clarity... Plus two pieces of really good news: 1) the latest vote at the UN as countries vote overwhelmingly to take negotiations on the UN Tax Convention to the next step, leaving the blocker nations in a tiny minority. 2) despite huge lobbying to try to stop them, Australian politicians have shown how politicians really can act in the public interest.

On the Taxcast this month, three big tax justice wins: first, the draft UN convention - showing exactly why the United Nations is so much better and more democratic a place for the world to truly reform international tax rules. Second, the Financial Action Task force has announced important changes which indicate a shift away from the colonial mindset that established a system that's not working because it fails to hold the really big offender nations to account. And third, the Australian government seems to be holding its nerve against major lobbying pressure and is getting closer to implementing its world leading country by country reporting legislation.

Sep 27

#146 Green laundering

Are banks claims about their financing of fossil fuel companies true, or are they green laundering? The Tax Justice Network has been following the money, and our investigations show how financial secrecy is allowing banks to hide the true scale of their backing for activities that are accelerating the climate crisis. It's an international scandal.Plus: the judgment is final: Apple must now pay back taxes in Ireland of 13 billion euros, over 14 billion dollars. It's a big win for the European Commission. We discuss the implications.

Jul 30

#145 Crypto heists on trial

There are some massive heists happening that many of us have never heard of. Taxcast host Naomi Fowler talks to investigative journalist and author Geoff White about how crypto and the tech industry are impacting money laundering, and challenging national and international security. The rights and responsibilities for the tech and crypto industry, and 'freedom of speech' defences are being tested in court. The outcomes will have profound effects on all of us.

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. 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