#103 Racism, reparations and tax justice, part 2
#102 Racism, reparations and tax justice, part 1
#104 Competition is killing us

In this episode of the Tax Justice Network’s monthly podcast, the Taxcast we bring you part 2 on how tax justice can help address systemic racism in the US:

Plus: how much wealth is stashed offshore?!! We speak to Tax Justice Network Senior Advisor and economist Jim Henry and John Christensen on why our estimate of $21 to 32 trillion has been vindicated by new figures released by the OECD: “it means we’ve discovered an eighth continent of wealth”

Produced and hosted by Naomi Fowler. Transcript available here (not 100% accurate) Never miss an episode – subscribe by emailing naomi [at] taxjustice.net

“As we continue to ignore the racist history of the tax code, ignore the fact that policy is not race neutral and that the tax system is not immune to racism then we will continue to see the impact of black and Brown communities and communities of colour worsen in the most negative way.”

~ Cortney Sanders of the Center of Budget and Policy Priorities

“How is it that after 400 years over 40 million African Americans only own about 2% of US wealth? Normally when we talk about discrimination we talk about it from the perspective of the injustice or the immorality associated with it. I wanted to look at things a little differently. I wanted to look at what is the financial cost associated with it and more importantly what does research say that those costs are?”

~ Author Shawn Rochester, (The Black Tax: the cost of being Black in America)

“For a very long time here, we’ve had a sort of a rising tide lifts all boats point of view in this country and saying, okay, well, you know communities of colour will benefit if we just invest in broad based policies. And I think this is a moment where people are saying, okay, we know that’s not true, right? It doesn’t mean we shouldn’t invest in these broad-based policies. And it doesn’t mean we shouldn’t push for things that benefit everyone, but communities of colour have been specifically and explicitly pushed behind and disenfranchised. And to address those harms are going to have to have explicit policies that benefit them.”

~ Brandon J. McKoy of New Jersey Policy Perspective

“It means we’ve discovered an eighth continent of wealth. It’s important, especially for developing countries because [it] shows that they’re basically a net creditor of the rich world, ‘cos most of this money is not invested in Cayman islands or Panama, it’s basically invested in London and New York and Zurich.”

~ Tax Justice Network Senior Advisor and economist Jim Henry on why our estimate of $21 to 32 trillion offshore wealth has been vindicated by new figures released by the OECD

You can listen to a Taxcast Extra of the extended interview with senior Tax Justice Network advisor Jim Henry here:

Want to download and listen on the go? Download onto your phone or hand held device by clicking here.

Jargon
Secrecy Jurisdiction

A tax haven or secrecy jurisdiction is a place that deliberately provides an escape route for people or entities who live or operate elsewhere. They shield them from whatever taxes, criminal laws, financial regulations, transparency or other constraints they don’t like. Ordinary people whose lives are affected by tax haven laws are not consulted on these laws because they live in other countries: they have no say in how those laws are made, thus undermining their democratic rights.

Tax Haven

A tax haven or secrecy jurisdiction is a place that deliberately provides an escape route for people or entities who live or operate elsewhere. They shield them from whatever taxes, criminal laws, financial regulations, transparency or other constraints they don’t like. Ordinary people whose lives are affected by tax haven laws are not consulted on these laws because they live in other countries: they have no say in how those laws are made, thus undermining their democratic rights.

Offshore

A tax haven or secrecy jurisdiction is a place that deliberately provides an escape route for people or entities who live or operate elsewhere. They shield them from whatever taxes, criminal laws, financial regulations, transparency or other constraints they don’t like. Ordinary people whose lives are affected by tax haven laws are not consulted on these laws because they live in other countries: they have no say in how those laws are made, thus undermining their democratic rights.

5 Rs of Tax

Revenue, to fund public services, infrastructure and administration.
Redistribution, to curb inequalities between individuals and between groups.
Repricing, to limit public “bads” such as tobacco consumption and carbon emissions.
Representation, to build healthier democratic processes, recognising that higher reliance of government. spending on tax revenues is strongly linked to higher quality of governance and political representation.
Reparation, to redress the historical legacies of empire and ecological damage.

More episodes
Sep 27
2024
The Taxcast
#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.
View full episode info
Jul 30
2024
The Taxcast
#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.
View full episode info
Jun 28
2024
The Taxcast
#144 The Black Tax
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
View full episode info
Jun 1
2024
The Taxcast
#143 The Corrupting of Tax Justice
In this episode: stories of how we've all been cheated, and a 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 too. How do we protect ourselves from the forces seeking to limit 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.
View full episode info
Apr 30
2024
The Taxcast
#142 Blockchain havens
"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 countries face."Cryptocurrency and transactions through the blockchain are tax havens in themselves. But also they touch down on earth into the bricks and mortar world through blockchain havens. [They offer] the deliberate deletion of corporate oversight...an enormous black hole for transparency purposes. Impenetrable.""Secrecy jurisdictions everywhere are busily setting up specialist blockchain hubs. They're happy to be outdoing each other to offer regulatory refuge. And that's what they've always been about. Yet someone told me that they recently interviewed the relevant minister of a well known jurisdiction where they've set up a blockchain hub who told him he couldn't answer questions about crypto and blockchain policy because he didn't understand it!""Commercial work in the offshore havens is diminishing. The number of incorporations everywhere, particularly in places in the Caribbean, is falling, partly because of rules that have been adopted, but partly because people don't need them anymore."
View full episode info
Mar 29
2024
The Taxcast
#141 Crime DOES pay...?
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. 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?
View full episode info